Be a Doer
Yesterday, I heard a clip where Denzel Washington recoined it (not sure if it's his originally) to "Those who can, do. Those who can't, talk about those that do."
And I've been coming back to this lesson over and over recently.
I find myself talking about doing things more easily and often than I find myself actually doing the work.
I noticed it when I got frustrated that someone else was doing it this month. And like an itch, it just wouldn't go away.
How could they not see how much they were talking and how little they were doing??
Pause.
Something a mentor taught me years ago was that when you find yourself getting frustrated about patterns in other people, examine yourself.
It hard to admit, but usually we notice in others patterns that need to change in ourselves.
And so, I realize that my own "doing" wasn't matching my "talking".
Man, that's a hard thing to admit.
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It also goes the other way: when you're working your tail off, the voices of others (who, by the way, aren't doing the work) seem to get so loud and distracting.
I put an image below that I saw this week on Instagram. It resonated immediately.
There are so few who have the courage to do, and commit to the work.
A few more might talk about doing it, but may, sadly, never commit to action.
And so many people will criticize from the sidelines.
That's what Denzel was touching on in his quote.
"Those who can't, talk about those who do."
It's normal. Don't let it ruffle your feathers.
Just keep focused, put in the work, stay consistent, and to really find true peace and blessing from your work, commit it to the Lord.
There are many critics, there are fewer who are bold enough to talk about doing something, and there are even fewer who have the courage to do and take action.
I'm not sure about you, but I want to be a doer. Someone who gets things done.
Here's the question I'm asking myself today: what is one thing that I've been talking about doing which I could turn into action today?
I can theorize doing, strategize methods and ways to do something, but at the end of the day I just need to take action. And stick to it.
It's been said that "you only run out of chances when you stop taking chances" and I couldn't agree more.
Here's to taking action on at least one thing this week that I've been talking about doing for some time now.
(This has helped me a ton, in fact, I need to re-read it this year)
I hope you have an incredible rest of your week!