Intentions and Actions

Let me describe to you the series of events that marked the beginning of our summer.

My wife’s dad passed away.
Two days later, we welcomed our third child.
Nine days later, we were in the hospital with him for viral meningitis.
A week later, we were three hours away from home for my wife’s father’s funeral that had been delayed because of our life circumstances.

As we look back on this difficult season for our family, one of the things we are so grateful for are the actions of people around us. The people who brought meals, offered to help, sent a card in the mail, or even sent a text to check in reminded us that we were not alone and encouraged us to keep moving forward. 

All of these meaningful, yet often small, actions reminded me that the smallest action is better than the grandest intention. Unfortunately, we can all fall prey to good intentions that are not carried out in actions. 

When was the last time you said something that started like this?

I hoped to . . .
I wanted to . . .
I planned to . . .
I intended to . . . 

If you’re like me, you probably did yesterday!

 

I am not going to reach out to that client until I have these things together for them.
I need to check in with that person on our team, but I’ll wait until we can go to lunch in a month.
I am going to host this bigger event when I have more time.
I’m gonna to start writing the book when I have something worth saying.
I’m going to send that text when they’ve had some space to grieve.
I’m going to offer to help when I have time to do more for them.

Here’s my challenge to you today: Be comfortable with small actions. Then act.

The purpose of this post is not to guilt you into doing more. It’s actually the opposite. I want to encourage you to get comfortable with doing less. Because doing less is far better than doing nothing. 

Whatever it is that you intend to do today, do it.
Do it even if the action is much smaller than you think it should be.
Do it because actions are always better than intentions.