Fire before you Aim

Atchaya Jayabal
Infinite Publications
2 min readMar 4, 2024

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Photo by Brian Lawson on Unsplash

I used to be in the boat of belief that an extensive preparation before doing the actual task is a smart practice. It was just until my over-loaded confident brain brought to spot-light that something is not really right in the way I work.

While we keep sharpening our axes to make that ONE FINE CUT, time introduces our competitors a shiny loaded pistol.

Has it happened to you? The alarm in your head starting to beep: You almost forgot what exactly the end goal of your task is. And you figure out that the excessive amounts of information that your brain processed has made you lose focus on your target. Looking around, you realize that you are way behind the ones who started the game after you. You are not alone!

The Mind — a never satisfied spouse

Every chunk of information we consume is an absolute shot of dopamine.

When an idea pops at work, the curious dopamine urges us to get more information on it just to deceive us with the concept of clarity. The problem starts when the ‘More’ crosses extents of undefined boundaries. Thanks to the privilege we have, to blame the internet era to keep us constantly distracted! Evidently, the more we dive into knowing more, the AIs (Artificial Intelligence) take us to deeper into nowhere. So, stop the foreplay and start the actual game.

The Art of Starting

“Preparation leads to clarity”, I’d boast. But, It took me a hell load of missed deadlines to intake the classic truth: it’s better to face failure and learn what’s necessary than to muse in my imagination that I’ll never fail when prepared. This bitter-sweet realization eventually made me break-up with my long preparation schedules.

So here’s what happens, when your relationship with preparations don’t go well:

Do I advocate for unprepared tasks? A BIG NO! Planning things is a beautiful process. But to be lost in it is never really cute. Plan, Prepare, Act and Fail if needed at the same time so you’ll mold yourself, unveil the finest craftsmanship inside you and set a benchmark of success in your own style.

Failure is an art. It is the crafting tool.

So, Practice.

Originally published at http://atchayajayabal.wordpress.com on July 28, 2021.

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