Activationists vs Passivationists

Welcome back to this multi-part series, based on The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David Schwartz. Here’s what we’ve covered so far: 1. Self-Belief, 2. Eliminate Excusitis, 3. Think Big, 4. You’re Important, 5. Upgrade Your Environment. Here’s what we’re covering in the final part of this series…

Series: The Magic of Thinking Big

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Activationists vs. Passivationists

“Excellent ideas are not enough. An only fair idea acted upon, and developed, is 100 percent better than a terrific idea that dies because it isn’t followed up.”

– David Schwartz

There are plenty of people who can come up with ideas, but there are only a handful of people who consistently turn those ideas into action. When it comes to the art of doing—of taking action—there are two broad categories of people: Activationists and Passivationists.

Activationists come up with ideas and execute on them without waiting:

They decide to take a vacation and they book it.

They decide to reach out to an old friend and they do it.

They decide they’re going to be successful… and they do what must be done to make it happen.

Passivationists, on the other hand, may come up with just as many ideas, but they don’t execute:

They postpone the vacation.

They think to themselves that the old friend they want to reach out to won’t have time for them.

They procrastinate and rationalize themselves out of ever doing anything, including achieving success.

Clearly, we want to be less like the passivationist, and more like the activationist.

But how?

Actionable insights

If you’re a passivationist that aspires to become an activationist, your first step is to let go of perfectionism.

Perfectionists put things off because they fear doing it wrong. But the activationist takes immediate action, and deals with any problems that arise along the way.

This also includes waiting for the “perfect” time to do something. There is no perfect time, and every minute you wait makes it that much more likely you’ll chicken out of the whole thing.

NOW is the magic word of success. Get rid of tomorrow. Get rid of later. Get rid of sometime. And stop “should-ing” all over yourself. Buck up and take action – become a doer now.