One of the things I’ve observed about some organizations and leadership teams that I’ve coached and consulted with is that they often mistake a flurry of activity for deliberate action, but these aren’t necessarily the same things.

To illustrate this point, consider the following thoughts from a programmer and writer, who goes by the name of Loopy, about the difference between “preparing to do the thing” and “actually doing the thing”…

• Preparing to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
• Scheduling time to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
• Making a to-do list for the thing isn’t doing the thing.
• Telling people you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
• Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
• Writing a banger tweet about how you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
• Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn’t doing the thing. 
• Hating on other people who have done the thing isn’t doing the thing. 
• Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
• Fantasizing about all of the adoration you’ll receive once you do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
• Reading about how to do the thing isn’t doing the thing. 
• Reading about how other people did the thing isn’t doing the thing. 
• Reading this essay isn’t doing the thing.

The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

Sometimes the reason for our frustration, stress, and anxiety about a project, challenge, or initiative is that we fool ourselves into thinking that talking about it, deliberating about it, and preparing to do it is the same thing as moving the ball down the field through deliberate action.

Yes, we need to talk about it, strategize for it, and plan for it.

But don’t forget to do it!