Most of the advice that you will find in personal development literature is action oriented.   People searching for success expect to have a list of things they must do in order to reach that success.  How many times have you heard that you won’t get anywhere sitting on your laurels, that you have to get moving, that ideas are a dime a dozen, and that the key to success is execution.  Even apparel companies marketing to an action oriented society understand the mass appeal of getting something done:  “Just Do It”, they say.

But could we make a case that we are turning into a society of just-do-it neurotics?  Is always doing something the best way to achieve success or are there times when doing absolutely nothing is the best course of action (or inaction)?  This article makes the case that there are occasions when inaction can actually be your best bet. 

Can you imagine the following line as part of a motivational campaign?

                “Just Do Absolutely Nothing!”

I bet you won’t find too many motivational statements that tell you to do nothing, but, even though success in most about taking action, there are times when complete inaction is actually the right choice.  Here are a few examples.

Remember getting an email that attacked you directly or misstated the facts, or defended something that you completely disagreed with?  What was your first reaction?  Probably to immediately start typing a response that counters the attack, the misstatements, or the misguided opinion.  But if you immediately jump to respond to emails that you don’t agree with, especially with you are feeling a bit angry about it, you can actually do more damage than good by responding immediately.  What is the best thing to do when you received a flaming email?  Absolutely nothing!  Just let it sit there for a while, maybe even for a day or two.  Many times others will jump in and you don’t even have to say all the things you wanted to say.  If after a day or two you still feel strongly that you must respond then do so, but let it simmer for a while, and it is likely that your response will be much more poised and well thought out.

Another example: managing your investments.  Every time the market goes up or down you think about how you should respond.  Many times we overreact to natural variations of the markets or to the latest news.  Studies have shown that most investors do not achieve the returns of market indexes because they overreact to market gyrations and end up buying and selling at the wrong time.  Other than making occasional adjustment to your asset allocation, most times the best thing to do with your investments is: Absolutely nothing!

Even when it comes to our health it is so easy to overreact to shifts is health conditions.  American doctors in particular are trained to help patients fix the problem through some type of intervention, such as medication, surgery or other medical procedures.  But there are times when the best course of action is to just let your body use your natural healing capabilities.  Do you want an example?  Read this article about how this woman responded to her medical condition known as “frozen shoulder”.  What did she decide to do about her frozen shoulder problem?  Absolutely nothing!  The results were just as good or better than if she had taken chosen the intervention route.  She did her research and took responsibility for her own health.  And, I also agree with her that her that doctors must absolutely hate the internet!  We are not saying that you should not follow your doctor’s advice, but it does not hurt to do your own research and challenge the notion that intervention is always necessary.

So, although many people fail to achieve their goals and reach the success they desire due to lack of action, you must be careful that you don’t swing the pendulum all the way to the other end either.  Overreaction sometimes just creates noise, and does more damage than good, hindering your ability to achieve success.

So the next time you get the urge to “Just  Do It”, think about whether you are truly taking an action that will get you closer to your goals, or whether you are simply overreacting to a condition that if you just ignore, most likely will go away all by itself.  If is the latter, sit, down, relax, and follow the unusual but sometimes effective advice to achieve success:  Do absolutely nothing!