Waiting to Reach the Goal
At the University of Florida, Professor Jerry Uelsman divided the students in his photography class into two groups: he told the first group that the more photographs they turned in at the end of the term, the higher their grade would be, while the second group would be evaluated on a single "perfect" photograph they submitted. At the end of the year, he found, surprisingly, that the best photographs came from among those the first group had turned in. That's because throughout the whole term, the first group stayed busy constantly taking photographs, while the second group stayed busy debating which angle and light would produce the perfect photo.
In this example, where we see two basic behaviors people display when trying to reach goals in life, we can't say one of these behaviors is better than the other. Planning helps us prepare for the steps we'll take to reach our goal and helps us build up our resources along the way. But it doesn't provide the active steps that will actually get us to the goal we want. Taking action, trying things out, involves an active process that produces either a positive or a negative result. For example, researching healthy living and reading books is part of the preparation process, but it doesn't involve any action. Organizing our environment, removing junk food from our shopping list, and building an exercise routine are actions that align with the goal we're talking about.
For a long while, I went through a period where I wrote down my wishes one by one, thought about the paths I needed to overcome to reach my goals, and repeatedly asked questions to people who had already gone down the paths I wanted to take. Even though I felt brief relief while taking these 'steps,' at the end of the day I found myself right where I'd started.
I was in a period where I couldn't effectively make use of the preparation and action phases described above. Because working on my goals, gathering information about the best way to do things, provided short-term relief, but I was also experiencing the discomfort of not taking active steps. Because making plans and preparations was a tool that let me postpone the difficult step of taking action. Staying busy with things related to my goal made me feel relaxed, but it got in the way of me taking active steps. Trying things out, and seeing progress in the process after each attempt, also increases motivation.
As a result, if you want to add a new habit to your life, the most effective way will be to take a step and maintain consistency in those steps, rather than waiting for perfection and getting caught up in mental processes about what "perfect" would look like.
