Humans are considered “the superior race” because they have the ability to consciously think (which by the way it’s something that was also created in the mind of humans, I don’t know how superior de other creatures see us – an animal can still hurt you they don’t really stop and say” hey, wait – this is the superior race, I shouldn’t mess with that! I will back down now and not kill this human”.)
I got to study a bit the behavior of our dog and I noticed how much in the present she lives! The present time is her only reference and she seems happy! She doesn’t have the human brain or responsibilities, just the natural instinct of living in the now. She can recognize some places, situations, people through the natural powers (so she does have some recollection of the past to help her react to certain situations). My dog’s day-to-day experience is created through action. She wakes up, eats, plays, sleeps, eats again, walks, plays cuddles, and the next day she does the same actions (maybe in a different order). Her life is a cumulus of small actions, like sequences in a movie.
Here I am, a human with more power of decision over my actions, feeling admirable by the simplicity of a dog’s life. When did we start complicating our lives so much? When did our human powers become so hard to use?
Why is it so hard to take action in our lives?
We are not so different from animals. Animals live instinctively, in a survival mode, a lifestyle that a lot of people chose today. Animals and some humans are really not so different: they live day by day, trying to survive, in a constant defensive mode and far away from the action that can shift them into a more evolved state.
I find taking action hard sometimes. It’s not really a secret that habits are hard to break and for some reason, it’s also very hard these days to just get up and do what we want to do.
How can we take more action?
- More action less thinking. Relaxation also comes from action – you watch tv, you dance, you meditate – these all are actions! Relaxing while doing nothing can be good in some cases, but don’t confuse it with relaxing. Doing nothing is not the best way to relax, you end up feeling guilty that you postponed certain thing. Playing games, painting, sleeping, watching a movie, eating good food, doing something else that you didn’t have time for. Being a potato couch for more than is necessary is not the cure to feeling stresses – if you are tired just sleep, if you overthink just clear your mind, if you worked too much just play or sleep, if you stayed inside just go outside. Try to identify clearly what you need and relax by giving yourself that. Doing nothing in itself is action, relaxation is not necessarily the synonym for doing nothing. Relaxation is finding specifically what you need (sleep, eat, pause from work, a clear mind, etc.) and give precisely that to yourself. You will give yourself what you need through conscious action, rather than passive action.
- Plan bigger goals that are hard, periodically. For me moving to a new house was something that really unveiled my potential to focus, work and it kinda developed a muscle that made me realize HOW MUCH I CAN DO IN LESS TIME. this experience made me realize that I feel amazing when I act and not-so-amazing when I am passive.
- Replacing “I must” with “I choose”. Just consciously choose every day what you want to do and do it, take charge of your actions!
- The 5-4-3-2-1 method – I like the method of Mel Robbins that I also use when I need to wake up in the morning. Whenever you don’t feel like doing something say 5-4-3-2-1 and launch yourself as a rocket into that specific task. No thinking, just doing!
Conclusion?
I don’t really have a conclusion on this one since I am still working on taking action more in my life. By action, I mean meaningful action that can actually help me evolve in the direction I want. I am happy that somehow I have become better than my younger self, even if I still have a lot to learn.
Just by writing this text, I am actually taking one more step towards what I find meaningful.
Day by day, my friend.
