We are programmed as children, by our parents and our society, to avoid hastiness. We are always told to 'take our time' and to 'think about things carefully'. As we grow older schools, universities, and even our employers want us to assess and reassess every decision before we take it. We are asked to relentlessly think about our decisions. We are required to contemplate, ponder and ruminate lest we take a wrong decision or say something we shouldn't have.
You may wonder, what's the harm?
Well, let me quote my alter ego, Hamlet, on this:
"And thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.—"
Dangers do lurk everywhere. It is our consciousness, our awareness of these dreads that makes us coward. When the ultimate indecisive tragic hero Hamlet says that our thoughts cast a 'sickly' shadow over our resolution, his wisdom does transcend the ages.
Please, try to humor me and forget for a second that he was actually contemplating suicide . Notice how resolution is referred to as 'native'. It is innate; we are resolute by nature. If an infant had dwelled over his first step, nobody would have walked the face of the earth!!!
Want another modern day example?
Brainstorming! The reason brainstorming is so effective in generating good, creative ideas is the way the process flows, without much interference from the conscious mind. You don't think, you just "do".
Inaction makes your life turn 'awry'.
Take my word on it, sometimes you need to rush in, just dive in and let what is meant to be happen. Over calculation sure makes life safer, but you risk being trapped in your own head, shackled by your own inertia while the rest of the world goes round.
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