The urgency of doing

Leonardo Da Vinci already said that he had been impressed with the urgency of doing. According to him “knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”

He was clearly ahead of his time and would be considered a great coach nowadays. As he totally got what it is about when we desire change in our life. It is good to be flexible and desire change. It is even better to have or get more awareness. The real challenge comes when we are going to practice what we want to achieve. And that is often where we let ourselves down. We tentatively give it some effort and because it often feels uncomfortable to try something new, we tell ourselves that, because it feels unnatural, it is better to let go. At that point we can learn from neuroscience. Neuroscientists tell us that the “discomfort” we experience is just a sign from our brain that we haven’t practiced this particular behavior or action yet. In order to feel comfortable with a new practice or new behavior, we need to create a so-called new “neural pathway”. And this new “neural pathway” will be created if we practice something different for at least 21 days.

So onwards with this new practice or behavior or whatever your objective is. And think of Yoda while you are at it: “you do, or you do not, there is no try!”