Action over analysis, movement over mapping

When in doubt, create.

It doesn’t even matter what. Just make something. Anything.

Action not only cures anxiety, it produces information. Having a kinetic temperament is the great uncertainty reducer. Moving forward, even in the smallest increment, informs the next work you do. You don’t even have to be good, accurate or right. Because you will learn more from shipping a failure than ruminating in isolation trying to predict success.

But until you get out there and start executing, you’ll always be trapped inside your head.

I’m reminded of the first time I tried shooting and editing my own movie. This was new creative territory for me, as my previous film projects outsourced those functions to freelancers.

Historically, I did the writing, performing and scoring, but left the technical aspects of filmmaking to the experts. This project, however, I experimented with vertical integration.

Let’s see if we can do everything. Let’s combine the stages of production normally operated by separate parties, if only to gain a new body of experience.

Instantly, I discovered just how true it was that action produces information. Watching tutorials about shutter speed and aspect ratio was helpful for context, but nothing beat the tangible experience of pointing a camera and pressing record.

Reading about best practices for editing and motion graphics was a useful learning tool, but the real education came from assembling footage and sequencing clips together, scene by scene.

It was only by taking these steps did my aesthetic understanding and technical references grow. I wasn’t even sure what the movie was until I started making it.

Because in many cases, the process is less of a creation and more of a discovery. To know what you’re going to make, you have to begin making. It’s the zen parable of, start walking and the path illuminates itself. You’ll know where you’re going when you arrive.

The best part is, you don’t need to make much progress to realize, holy shit, this is totally going to work. It’s an enthralling moment.

Almost like the project starts whispering to you. It announces itself. Since you took real action to cure your anxiety, it produced information, and now you’re lightyears ahead of where you would have been, had you stayed within the warm confines of your head.

Scott Adams, the renowned cartoonist and political pundit, writes about this principle in his bestselling book on mental habits:

Nature doesn’t seem to care whether we are smart. It terms of our survival as a species, it only matters that some people, in some places, get things right some of the time. That still moves society forward. Favoring action over inaction, even in the face of uncertainty, is generally a good approach to life. The world rewards energy, and it even rewards failure by teaching you valuable lessons and expanding your network.

Are you biased toward action? What information can you gain by taking one small, specific step forward?

Now, I will admit, this strategy can be frustrating for the people around you. My wife jokes with me all the time for having zero sense of direction, which is a trait my father passed down to me. Whenever we’re traveling or visiting a new part of the city, the moment we get out of the cab or pop up from the train or step off the jetway, I just start walking.

Even if I have no clue where we are or where we’re going, I still start walking.

Because action produces information. Moving in any direction informs me just as quickly and as effectively as standing there trying to orient myself with the map.

I understand that not everyone possesses this kind of kinetic temperament, but I find it easier to put one foot in front of the other, if only to gain momentum, and then course correct along the way if necessary.

Sure, this often results in me leading my family a hundred yards down the wrong avenue, but hey, it’s all part of the journey. We never would have passed that pretzel shop had I not lead you people incorrectly.

The same principle applies to projects at work.

When in doubt, create. Start making something. If only to produce the information about where to move next. You don’t have to view it yield loss or wasted effort, as it still propels you to the next phase.

The sales leader at the startup I worked for used to tell me, you can’t just start writing. You step back and plan out the strategy first.

To which I would always respond, dude, have you ever made anything before?

That’s not how the creative process works. The whole reason that we make things is to know what we are planning. Action produces information, not the other way around.

If every time we wanted to do something, we had another all hands on deck meeting, then we would never ship anything. Our job is to take lots of chances that have a low cost, rather than wasting time trying to figure out in advance what might work.

As you might guess, the sales executive and I agreed to disagree. A few months later, that startup laid off twenty percent of their workforce, including myself and the entire marketing team.

Screw em, their loss. Good riddance.

Reality is, some people and organizations are simply not going to be risk tolerant and creatively supportive.

I am a person who values action over analysis. Movement over mapping.

It’s not a perfect approach, and certainly feel scary to those who don’t trust themselves and the process.

But until such time that I get run over by a street sweeper for walking down the wrong way of a one way street, I’m just going to keep walking, keep producing information, and keep iterating on what I learn.

How might a more kinetic temperament help you achieve your goals?