The Most Important Question When You’re Spinning Your Wheels

Are you buying pants, or are you doing this thing?

A while back I was talking with some friends about how much easier it is to prepare to do something than it is to actually do it — and how that preparation really feels like progress, even if you aren’t moving forward at all.

It started with Hartley, who said that it’s like when you want to start exercising, but instead of getting up early to go to the gym, you go buy workout pants.

Then our friend amy said it’s so much easier to go buy the pants!

Right? And until you buy the pants you can’t work out at all.

How can you work out, when you don’t have the pants?

It really is SO much easier to go buy the pants.

You’re putting your money where your mouth is, right?

And your brain insists that this is necessary, this is progress, this is you doing something.

It all makes so much perfect sense.

Never mind that you already own pants. It’s not like you’re shopping for new pants pantsless.

Never mind that you are perfectly equipped to do whatever it is you want to do in some form…