Then, having picked some beliefs – you can always change them later – you have a duty to politely exhort and persuade your friends. If you believe them to be true – if you believe that enacting these ideas will make the world a better place – there is no other option, embarrassing though certainty may be. Even so, however passionate your beliefs, there will be days of doubt. There should be days of doubt, because they are how you better your beliefs. But do not abandon your doing while you consider; carry on doing for a while, borrowing on the assumption that your belief will return tomorrow. In short, on the bad days, Fake It until you do not need to – either because you believe again, or because your beliefs have accordingly changed. Redefine the Doing:
I have not talked much about what you should do. That’s sort of the point. We all have a list of things we think should be done. And though it matters what you do, the difference between doing something and not doing anything is far bigger than the difference between doing the best thing and doing a good thing. Do something, and while you’re doing it you can consider what else you could do instead. I have also talked about changing the world. It’s an intimidating thought. If you consider an action against the test ‘Will it change the world?’, you will never do it, because no one action does. Even the rare president or hero who can take a single wrenching decision, got there by compiling many smaller moves. So do not think ‘will it change the world?’ Think, ‘if this was repeated by millions of people across the country, would it improve things?’, and Think, ‘is this action better than no action at all?’ If you can answer yes, then that must be sufficient. Join In:
I mention repetition by millions of people. Your actions will surely be more effective if they are coordinated with others, with each person’s talents put to the wheel. In the previous issue of this magazine, I exhorted readers to join in with organizations and consent to a hierarchy in order to get stuff done. That holds true. Individuals rarely change the world, but armies almost always do, one way or another. Helping a grandmother across the street is a fine and noble thing; but working with Age Concern to secure care for the elderly will make so much more difference. Do Stuff:
I have not done these things. I am too cowardly, perhaps. Certainly I am too attached to my comfort and my peace, and timid to boot. This magazine – it does not count. It required a certain amount of work, and maybe it contains some decent wisdom. But there is no shortage of advice out there; it is the doing, not the writing or the thinking or the dreaming, that will achieve. I hope to do better. Go do stuff.