What are the consequences of our actions?
As an overthinker with a somewhat negative predisposition, I often perform pre-mortems where (like a chess Grandmaster*) I envisage everything that possibly could go wrong with a potential move, convincing myself that it probably will.
The result?
Fear to perform said action.
This apprehension of negative consequences inhibits the making of meaningful progress.
So let us conduct a thought experiment…
What if those negative consequences never materialized?
Would you call that old friend, send that work email, join that club?
And in the interests of being thorough…
What if your negative visualizations did manifest – what’s the worst that could happen?
Rejection? Perhaps. Failure? Possibly. Loss? Potentially.
Such consequences aren’t as catastrophic as we initially imagine.
Similarly, non-reversible decisions are rare.
In unwelcome eventualities, we can simply choose again and course correct.
So instead of fantasizing about the ideal outcome, make some real-world progress.
The consequences of inaction far outweigh the consequences of making a mistake.
So act now, before it’s too late.
💬 Logical consequences are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons of wise men. – Thomas Henry Huxley
* Having just read ‘The Queen’s Gambit‘ by Walter Tevis, this seems like an apt analogy.
