20251116120902⁝ Doing the thing

Preparing for the thing
is not doing the thing.
Scheduling time for the thing
is not doing the thing.
Making lists, neat and clean -
still not doing the thing.

Telling the world
you’re about to begin
is not the same
as stepping in.
Texting friends,
crafting the perfect tweet -
none of that moves your feet.

Blaming yourself
for not starting,
blaming others
for finishing,
blaming life
for getting in the way-
not doing the thing today.

Dreaming of glory,
of praise yet to come,
imagining applause
before the work is begun -
beautiful, maybe,
but still not the thing.

Reading the guides,
the stories, the steps,
reading how others
climbed their own cliffs -
even reading
this very line -
still not doing the thing.

Because in the end,
after everything:

The only way
to do the thing
is
to do the thing.