I is for Introspection

Plato asked, “…why should we not calmly and patiently review our own thoughts, and thoroughly examine and see what these appearances in us really are?”

Two years ago, I would have laughed uproariously at the above question and said that Plato = NATO (No Action, Talk Only). All my life, I have been a doer. The bare minimum thought before taking action. Always the one who had no patience for talking or thinking (in excess, I mean), and no patience for people who basically live in their heads, and not enough in the real world.

However, Plato has a point, and circumstance and people have steered me towards a path where I had to sit and examine my conscious thoughts and the motivations behind my actions.

It is human nature to readily be critical of others, but to turn that critical eye on oneself…it is one of the most difficult and uncomfortable experiences one will ever have to deal with.

I still believe that it is dangerous to permanently reside in your head. A tree does not become a piece of furniture because the carpenter wished it so – he had to get off his ass and convert the tree into timber, and fashion the timber into a table, or chair, or book shelf. Action is imperative when you want to progress.

But action without thought, can be infinitely more dangerous (I was the poster child for this), and it is up to us to be able to strike a productive balance between the two.