I observed some people take more action than the others and see more results in life, while others seem to be always waiting for something and procrastinating their actions.
I thought it would be interesting to create a scale and here is my 4 levels of action pyramid.
Let’s start from the base.
Wait for instruction – some people somehow lack the motivation to take action. Always waiting for others to tell them what to do next, else they would just stay idle, observing the Newton’s first law – an object will not change its motion unless a force acts on it.
Wait for permission – some may have the motivation to do something but they do not dare to do it. It might be because they are afraid of disapproval by someone higher up the hierarchy. Just like Sim Wong Hoo’s NUTS (no u-turn syndrome) to describe the general Singaporean thinking – we can only do it if the government say we can do (must be black and white some more hor).
Wait for validation – some are more daring and do not need permission to do something. But they may still be stalled if they need validation from someone they admire or respect. They needed to hear from these influential people that they should do it to find that confidence. They will give up the idea if the influential people say they shouldn’t. They let their lives be dictated by someone’s opinion.
Just do it – if you are intrinsically motivated, you don’t need anyone’s permission or validation to do what you know is the right thing to do. Just do it.