Learning and Doing

I’ll admit it: I’m hopelessly biased on this one.

Georgetown got to me early enough with the ideas of “contemplation in action” and “living with one foot raised” that I’ve been looking for ways to enact them ever since.

With time, however, I’ve found that contemplation in action is a lofty standard toward which to strive.

In the meantime, contemplation and action is a good substitute — especially if you can progressively increase the refresh rate between the two. Some people are pure contemplatives or actives, but I’ve found that most professionals benefit from an action–reflection–action cycle: make a mess, analyze, and move forward to make a new mess beyond the last one.

And that’s the thing about living with one foot raised: every so often, you have to plant that foot and lift the other. Detachment to the point of indecision doesn’t make things better. Having the courage (born of reflection) to take a step and then prepare for another in a yet-unknown direction is the way to make the long walk toward progress.