I’ve always believed that fundamentally there are two types of people in the world, the do-er and thinker. While there might be a 100 sub-categories of each, there are still these two classifications that you can apply as a general rule, to the whole of humanity. Combine a do-er and a thinker in personal or professional life and the results can be astounding, combine two thinkers and while on the one hand it will be a great party, it will only be because a do-er has hosted it, two thinkers couldnt organise a piss up in a brewery. They could think up all the components of a great party, but would fall at the first hurdle, usually getting out of bed or locating a brewery, beer, friends or some combination of the three, either way were all staying sober or drinking in do-er hosted parties as normal.
I’m a thinker, which is both a blessing, and a curse. Whilst for all the money in the world I could never put up a shelf, while a do-er is demasculating me and putting it up, I’ve already analysed the profit for every manufacturer in the shelf supply chain, decided what and how should be stored on the shelf, solved world hunger (a plan never to be put into action) and prepared the reward (that i’ll never get round to organising) for the person putting up the shelf. Do-er’s have the same blessing/curse as the the thinkers. Do-ers, while great at putting up shelving are slaves to the moment, acting on impulse without the fore/hindsight to see the picture and context for their actions, which can mean that whilst active they are ultimately inefficent, headless chicken syndrome I guess you could call it.
The more I think about it, the more I want to be a do-er. I’m being left behind by do-ers who rather than talking their entire lives of doing all the things that they want to do (I’m thinking mainly about starting business’ here, my long time plan delayed by good job opportunities), they just do them, falling into things like I do my bed. Why, it might not be obvious, or even matter they just do them and the rest they’ll figure out later. I spend a life time figuring out that whilst i’m good at figuring out, i’m shit at taking that figuring and turning it into anything meaningful, I think long-term the odds for my peace of mind are low, the amount of time I spent building expectations only a do-er could hit, the further I get from what I want to do.
Can a thinker become a do-er? I have no idea, but I’m losing that warm and snuggly feeling thinkers get from late night pondering, and an increasing desire to just do something, even if it a spectacular, epic failure, just so at some point I can bore people with the story of me doing something, rather than planning to do something.
For you as a thinker, a few thoughts about doing:
Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
In theory there is no difference between practice and theory. In practice there is.
These words are not from my brain but the essence is:
1. To Learn doing things is easier than to learn thinking. To ask yourself “Could I do more?” is better than buying a book and “think” you are clever now.
2. The thinker knows about two kind of people. The doer not. He only distinguish between doers and don’ter. There is nothing behind his world.
The best mathmatical combination of these two states are non-doers/non thinkers and doers/thinkers. The two others tend to be dangerous.
The Non-doer/thinker because he could develop theories that seem to improve situations. But then others are forced to realize them and often there is something lost in translation.
The doer/non-thinker because he could be running Amok. Sometimes they are running in crowds of people and blow them up. Or killing baby seals because fur industry pays good money.
Okay. The double no is probably a dead fly. But reaching the state of a wise doer can only be done when you are able to think behind your deeds.
From this perspective you are a bit dangerous now but at least you already know what effect too much thinking can have.
This makes you a probable sane doer. You should become one when you know before that you won’t regret the non-doing afterwards. For everything else you could take into consideration to act.
For the non-thinker/doer-fraction:
Think different or Just Do it? Which products are more expensive?
From a strange quirk German guy…