I’m a planner. I think part of the reason I plan so much is because I’m cynical.
But also because I’m afraid.
Afraid to ship the thing and afraid to put myself out there to other people. Sure, I ship one of these emails every day and I’ve launched several projects, but that fear doesn’t go away. It’s right there with me every single day.
What should I write about today? Is it time to finally write that article that has a political lean to it? No…not today. People won’t like that.
I’m exhausted…maybe I’ll write that short piece I have on reserve about starting your day with some quick wins. No, they’ll think you’re mailing it in with a short piece.
I had both of those thoughts sitting down to write this very piece, but that’s typical. On any given day, I am “dancing with the Resistance (Lizard Brain).”
And so many days, I plan. I overplan. I brace myself for the worst. As Mark Twain said, “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”
But then I ship.
And I ship because even the best laid plans are completely worthless without action. They sit as a sunk cost collecting dust on a shelf, lose relevance, and worse – they lose momentum.
If planning helps you dance with the lizard brain, go ahead and plan. But to move forward, you need to then take massive action.