It’s Ok to Not Take Action

Sometimes we reach the end of the road and we just sit there with the engine idling so to speak. We don’t know which way to go so we don’t. Sometimes we’re not ready to act and that’s ok.

Our Western society places a lot of emphasis on acting. I don’t disagree. Taking action is very important. If we didn’t take action we’d literally never get out of bed in the morning because that is action. We’d never accomplish anything in life unless we act. I get that. Because our society places such a high value on acting, when we don’t act, we get down on ourselves.  The blame game sets in. We might even call ourselves names. We go down a road that we didn’t need to go.

We’re Not Ready

Sometimes we’re not ready to take action. There can be times when we’re at a crossroads or need to make a really big life decision or just want to lose weight, but we’re not ready to do anything about it yet. That’s totally ok. Give yourself permission to not take action. Forgive yourself for not being ready. And most of all, don’t berate yourself for not being ready. IT’S OK. Repeat after me: it’s ok to not take action sometimes.

It all goes back to readiness, which I’ve discussed before. [GIVE LINK] Readiness is an energy. The old saying, “You’re not ready til you’re ready” is so very true. Sometimes we can push ourselves to get ready, other times it back-fires. Sometimes we rush it and it turns out ok. Other times it’s a disaster.

When you’re not in the moment it’s easy to say sit with it. When you’re in the moment, sitting with it generally isn’t an option. You want an answer now. You want to take action now. Or you think you need to take action now. Often the need to take action is a result of internal pressure stemming from peer pressure. See it for that. You’re putting pressure on yourself or someone else is.

Take a Step Back

To step back and allow yourself not to take action right now, contrary to what you may think, is taking the pressure off of yourself. It’s typical human behavior to pressure ourselves into acting. It’s an alien concept not to take action. But, when you don’t know which way to go, why rush it? Why make a decision that you’ll regret only in the name of taking action?

If you don’t act, you’re not a failure. In fact, you’re smarter to be cautious. We all know impetuous people. That’s different from being spontaneous. Impetuous people tend to act without thinking. Sometimes that turns out ok, but many times, it doesn’t.  Being too cautious, on the other hand, can lead to analysis paralysis. I’m not suggesting that either. Middle of the road cautious is good. Just as some fear is good for protection, some caution is good.

Do whatever you need to do to make your decision. For many of us it’s gathering more facts and knowledge. Knowledge is good. Better to make an informed decision, than not.

What Does Your Gut Say?

Others just fly by the seat of their pants. I don’t mean the impetuous types. I mean the intuitive ones. They go inward. They ask their gut. Since they totally rely on that, what it says, goes.

A third category are the ones who use some knowledge and some intuition. Depending on the situation, that’s typically my go-to strategy. As I said, knowledge is good. How to apply that knowledge or if that knowledge pertains to you is a question for your intuition. Gather knowledge then ask yourself, “Will this work for me?” “Is this good for me?” If the answers are no, go back to the fountain of knowledge- google. Get more information. Then repeat the questions.

Ask yourself how it would feel to do this? How would it feel if I didn’t do this? If your answer is something along the lines of “I’d feel disappointed in myself if I didn’t do it, yet I really want to do it,” that requires some soul-searching. Now you have to look at your reasons for wanting to do something, then get past your disappointment. Disappointment is temporary. Actions are forever. You can’t reverse your action, but you can reverse your disappointment. It’s called getting over it.

Delay Is Ok

Sometimes we find that we’re not ready to act because another piece of the puzzle had to fall in place first. Or we needed to meet someone who had the answer to the question we were asking. In those cases, it’d be an “aren’t you glad you didn’t act” moment. If you stalled you may not realize why you stalled. The answer may have come in retrospect – you had to meet someone first.

Or, your intuition may be telling you to put on the brakes. It may not give you the reason why, but put the brakes on anyway. Our intuition isn’t like google in the sense that sometimes we don’t get all of the answers at once. For a reason. And the reason we may never know. Or find out later. The why isn’t as important as the message. Take your time. Do it later.

That’s happened to me many times in life. I didn’t act only to find out later why I didn’t act. It wouldn’t have been good for me. I may not have known that at the time, but my Higher Self was telling me not to do something. Other times when I’ve been more plugged in, I knew full well that my intuition was saying don’t do it now. I listened.

You know what they say, “Timing is everything.” Maybe your time to act isn’t right now. If your gut is telling you that, respect that. Listen. Remember: delay is ok. Most importantly, don’t beat yourself up if you decide not to act at all or act later. It’s all good in the end. It really is.


How do you make a decision? How do you get more answers when facing a decision?

Ask your intuition.

Do you have intuition? How do you know?

Do you have it but aren’t sure you’re hearing it?
Let me show you how.

If you want to confirm that you have it, learn how to listen to it, how to talk to it and how to trust it start by CLICKING HERE.

Once you start listening to your intuition, you’ll be amazed how much your life clicks into place. Then you can truly start enjoying yourself and get what you want out of life!

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