subject: The Importance Of Action [print this page] Through the ages, philosophers, sages and wise men have put a lot of emphasis on action and the importance of converting thought into actions. From the fables of Aesop to the Indian collection of fables- Hitopdesh, actions have always considered to be of prime importance. An individual who is only satisfied with planning and acts, will never be able to fulfill his dreams.
Action is important but even more emphasis is placed on inspired action. Inspired action is that which comes from within one, it is an action that is performed without any external stimulus. Once again, he relates an individual to the whole cosmos saying that the universe connects to ones inner self and shows an individual his true path of action. One must not be deaf to ones inner self and honestly follow the path set out before him. The author also differentiates between the decision to act and performing the act, saying that a mere decision to do something cannot be classified as action. Even though both vision and success are subjective concepts, differing from individual to individual, action is the one universal objective truth that must be performed in order to translate vision into success.
An extremely interesting concept that introduces is that since a lot of people waste a lot of time simply brooding over the consequence of their action without even having actually performed the action, he says that one should be following a circular path rather than treading on a straight line so that one can close in on the fear and thus eliminate it.
A lot of importance is also placed on the act of following up the action; it is not enough to simply perform but to extract a feedback regarding the end result. It is only by analyzing and reflecting on the consequences of the action undertaken that one can correct oneself in case there is a deviation from the planned course of action. Lastly, one must derive a moral from the whole process of performing ones action. Thus, one must always try to be happy, feel good about life and increase ones emotional quotient.
