Surprising New Research Reveals Gap Between Inaction, Lack of Results
- Studies show that many office workers would benefit from standing up at their desk, walking outside, and never returning.
- A powerful life hack is to stop caring about what other people think of you. This one neat trick will allow you to feel incredibly free, able to become whoever you want.
- Wanting something to happen is not the same as making it happen.
These and other insights come from the release of data sets related to new research. In an especially surprising development, mentally fixating on an unfinished task has been shown to have little effect on completing it. No matter how many hours are spent in mental obsession, the physical world proves largely immune to change without preemptive action.
To their dismay, aspiring authors tend to discover that books do not write themselves. This is true even when they stare at the blank page or screen for long periods of time.
It remains true when they talk about the book they are writing, when they carry around a notebook for “research,” and when they update their social media bios to claim the role of Writer.
In fact, only the act of writing itself—repeated over and over, in hundreds of sessions—leads to writing a book.
By contrast, researchers have uncovered several effective strategies for achieving nothing at all. Remaining paralyzed by indecisiveness, waiting for “someone else” to do something, and repeatedly analyzing a situation without doing anything about it are all successful approaches for achieving nothing.
Complaining about being busy is also effective almost 100 per cent of the time, at least when it comes to preventing forward motion from occurring.
These are not the only actions you can take to remain stuck. There is an entire catalog of things you can do to avoid doing the one thing that matters. Starting new projects, cleaning the house, running errands—the list could go on and on.
In summary, studies show that very little progress occurs unless you do something to set it into motion. Nothing changes unless you do.
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P.S. It is our ethical duty to note that the consequences of throwing your computer out the window have not been fully considered in a peer-reviewed study. Side effects may occur.
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