Tuesday's Rule #12

Don't delay

Welcome to this week’s edition of Tuesday’s Rule! A weekly breakdown of a “life rule” I’ve found interesting or useful.

A short one this week, with a challenge for you at the end. Let’s get into it.

When I sit down to write a post for TR, I’m aiming to write something thought provoking and useful that you can read in 2-3 minutes.

But, I'm writing about rules that, in some instances, do not need any explanation.

I could write the rule and leave it at that. They are either thought-provoking or interesting enough in their own right, or perhaps just don’t require any further explanation.

This is very true of today's rule, which is:

When Inspired, Act Immediately

I know this rule doesn't need further explanation or context.

At least it didn't for me when I first saw it in the form of this tweet from Naval (one of the world's most famous investors and clearest thinkers) a few years ago.

The visual below (credit Visualize Value) adds no extra words to the tweet, but manages to add an extra layer.

Even without the visual, we all understand exactly what this means.

We all know that feeling.

A good idea pops into our head.

We know that we must do something and we feel motivated to do so. But we delay, waiting, only to find that the motivation to act has been squandered.

There are some obvious examples of where acting immediately on motivation is a good idea:

• Deciding to do some exercise

• Responding to a difficult email

• Investing in that idea

You don’t need me to tell you that acting on these things immediately - as inspiration strikes - is the thing to do.

So, the value I’m going to add today isn’t about unpacking the rule, or pulling out any hidden meaning.

Instead, I’m going to set you a challenge.

In a world where connecting is easy, but real connections are harder than ever to maintain, I think this rule is easily applied to friendships and relationships.

So, this week, when you think about a friend or relative that you haven’t spoken to in a while, pick up your phone immediately and send them a message.

Doesn’t need to be anything complicated.

The only rule is, once you’ve thought of that person, you can’t delay. Not even for a minute.

“How are you doing? Not spoken in a while, was just thinking about you” is all it takes.

You’ll feel better and undoubtedly the recipient will do too.

You never know… this could be the most valuable thing I’ve ever written.