Daily Inspiration: “Active Inaction: That thing we do when we fall prey to the uncertainty that surrounds us…”

“Active Inaction: That thing we do when we fall prey to the uncertainty that surrounds us, leading us to become trapped within an ongoing pattern of action followed by inaction, which is repeated regularly as we seek some sort of elusive clarity!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

I spent some time yesterday working on my blog post, “10 Phrases That Define 2022” – go give it a read.

“10 Phrases That Define 2022!”

It’s modeled on the routine I established in 2005 with my ‘10 Great Words‘ post, which then morphed into a series of mindset-oriented action plans each year.

This year’s list reflects the ongoing nature of our world of muddled clarity as the pandemic continues. We’re all weary, wondering, wary, worrying perhaps, as reflected in my opening comment:

What’s going to happen in 2022, when it is pretty evident that volatility is the new normal? I find myself wondering about that as we start to enter our third year of the global pandemic – and living in a reality that involves a strange contradiction of attitudes towards where we find ourselves at this very moment in time.

And with that, I launched into the 10 phrases that define our attitude as we go forward into this complex and uncertain future, including the ‘paradox of active inaction‘: ‘the ongoing trap of action followed by inaction followed by much of the same…’

Inaction is a dangerous barrier, a complex prison within our minds that we must actively work to escape from. Falling into ths mindset is not new – back in 2002, after the complex realities of 9/11, the dot.com collapse, and an economic downturn, I coined a similar phrase: ‘aggressive indecision,’ which drew such a degree of attention that it became a newspaper column within the Globe & Mail:

“Paralyzed by indecision? Just do it”

I think that we are somewhat in a similar mindset right about now – we don’t know exactly where we are going, and so the motivation and drive to keep moving forward can sometimes be elusive. And it is by recognizing and diagnosing our malady of active inaction that we might be able to confront it head-on.

At least, as always, that’s my theory! Your mileage within your own voyage of uncertainty might vary!