Deliberate Action

"Cracked Ice", a tea screen painting by Maruyama Okyo (Japan, c. 1750-1799).

“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”

 – Socrates

A coping mechanism I had developed a few years ago, in the aftermath of my divorce, is a principle I call “Deliberate Action”. It is easy to feel overwhelmed when there’s so much on one’s plate.  Deliberate Action is a powerful strategy to make sure the important things get done, by focusing only on those important things.

It works by deciding, each day, what is the most important thing you want to do that day, then making sure you do that, even if that’s the only real accomplishment you end up making that entire day. In a world where we are bombarded with distractions, and are expected to keep busy all the time, doing only one thing a day may seem lazy and irresponsible. Yet think of how much can be accomplished if you did one important thing a day, each day, for a year, instead of spending time hopping around between tasks, many of which aren’t really important anyway, and leaving everything unfinished.

Deliberate Action is minimalistic, in line with the “Less Is More” principle and "Letting Go". Purging to-do-lists is as important as purging old clothes one no longer wears. Instead of trying to do everything, but ending up wondering where to begin, I keep the list of tasks I agree to small, but do them. That's how I advance towards my goals.

Deliberate Action does not defy planning. In fact, goal-setting and planning are essential for making it work at all. Selecting an appropriate daily task cannot proceed without comprehensive and clearly-articulated goals. Deliberate Action is therefore mindful action. Driven on autopilot instead, much of our time is wasted on the unimportant. Instead, deliberate action works magically: with less effort, we can do more. This is what the Taoists refer to as “non-action” or “effortless action.”

It is much like Chinese and Japanese brush painting, where the white space is held as important as the brushstrokes, often with the white space intertwining with the subject like a yin-yang symbol. The white background only serves to bring out and enhance the importance of the painting’s subject. By removing the clutter, we can more easily find what we want.

Deleted Facebook

I quit Facebook in July. Deleted my account. Simplifying my life. Less to worry about, less to stress about, and less of an online footprint to get me in trouble. Sure I lose some connections with people, but how deep those connections were? Better focus on improving connections with a few close friends, meeting more often in real life. 

Was Facebook useful for activism? It announced events, but was unreliable for news, and didn't give me a real outlet to express myself in a meaningful way. Rather than typing a few words and sharing stuff online, the focus should be on organizing in real life. Join Meetup groups and actual organizations. Go to meetings and meet real people. This is what's important. This is what I need right now. 

Facebook has proved negligent in using my data, and gleefully allows paid trolls and bots to rule the place. I don't need to waste my time and energy on that. I survived the loss of EP - a social networking site that was far more important to me and actually changed my life. The loss of Facebook is but a minor milestone. 

The recovery was far quicker than I thought. My fingers itched a couple of time on the first day, moving the mouse to where the Facebook icon used to sit on my desktop. But the addiction quickly wore off. I made an am implementing a FEXIT plan for easing me back to life before Facebook. This includes making better connections irl with real people, and going back to TV, newspapers, and reliable news sites. This blog is part of the plan to give me a meaningful outlet for self-expression.

Freedom

Freedom from the bondage of desire comes from Letting Go: letting go of things, to do lists, projects, ideas. 

The Buddhist ideal of non-attachment hits it right on. So do Taoist principles, and the modern minimalist movement.

If we don't like a movie or a book, we should not feel compelled to finish it. 

Walking away is empowering. Suffering through a project we lost interest in, simply "to finish", is a waste of time, and self-inflicted imprisonment.

Collecting things for the purpose of "using them someday" just adds to our stress, constantly reminding us that we're not doing things we've resolved to do. Giving away those things, or giving them up, gets us freedom to do whatever else we actually want to do at the moment. 

Fortune and fame, especially, need so much effort to collect and maintain. Those who have them long to be unknown and under the radar, free to do simple things without all the attention and headaches. 

Every layer of letting go unwraps a deeper feeling of freedom.

At the same time, every hangup about letting go is a thread in a spiderweb keeping us from total liberation. Some tethers, like our children, are necessary and positive. Often, though, the tethers are illusory, a product of our own tendencies to collect and plan.

Let go of old clothes, books, etc. Whatever we're not using and not likely to use. 

Let go of our past, or parts of our lives we're done with. 

Do not embark on a journey to the future laden with a heavy past.

Be the Nomad that picks up and moves at an hour's notice, following the rain.

Let go of anger. In forgiveness you find peace.

Let go of bitterness. That's the way to happiness.

Let go of regrets. We cannot do anything about the past, so what's the point of dwelling on it?

Only the present matters.

Letting Go

The negative is just as useful as the positive. 

Negative clues are as important to solving puzzles as positive clues. Knowing that a Sudoku square can't be that number narrows down the choices.

That is the essence of Lao Zi's teachings (often spelled Lao Tse or Lao Tzu, the "Old Master", who founded Taoism). Yang and Yin, action and rest, power and yielding, interchange in a continuous cycle. Everything depends on both of them together.

Similarly, the practice applies in our lives. Deciding not to do something is just as important as a positive choice to do something else. It puts the matter to closure and moves on. No longer is that item in the back of your mind, or in a list somewhere weighing down your desk.

Letting Go is part of Going Forward ...

To Do ...

As part of simplifying my life, I hence embark on a journey to let go.  Every day, I shall give up something.  Perhaps donate a piece of clothing or a book, or review a to do list and cross off items not in line with my goals and priorities.

P.S. I have faithfully kept to this affirmation since May 1 of this year.

Less Is More

This writing advice I offer my students,

It applies to everything really, 

What we say to others,

Things we own,

Promises,

Plans,

LESS ...

... is more!

From now on, while everybody else strives to amass MORE,

I will strive for LESS.

I want less of everything so I can have more of what I really want,

or more time for it. 

The less on my to-do list, 

the more chances I'll do most of it.

The less time I have, 

the more focused I get.