Anyone who has ever lifted themselves out of hell and back into real life knows at some point you must stop thinking and just act, even if it’s not perfectly planned out. Surely, we have all heard of the term “analysis paralysis”, a phenomenon incredibly common within us neurotic young males that no doubt haunts this forum. Other than getting a full psychoanalysis education, what can we do now to break through this disgusting habit?

What clicked for me, was when I realized I was misunderstanding the relationship between action and belief. Common wisdom is that our beliefs precede or set the stage for our actions. While there is some obvious truth here, most miss that in many cases it is action which precedes belief. It turns out most people look for a perfect way or moment instead of acting when the moment manifests itself. Analysis paralysis is merely the result of this common inversion; we are trying to “believe” ourselves into taking certain actions. If we consume enough self-help material, intellectual podcasts, or red pill literature, surely it will integrate and bleed through our being and actions?

Fortunately, I started working through some tough books in my life after being told to read Zizek, which cleared up a lot of modern-day issues for me. For example, Zizek points out that sometimes people engage in certain actions even if they don’t fully subscribe to the accompanying beliefs. Through repetitive action, these individuals become increasingly invested in the practice, and their beliefs start to align with their actions. In other words, the actions themselves generate the belief in retrospect. This has some spicy implications when you think hard enough about civic rituals like voting, tax season, and TSA lines; but that’s beyond the scope of analysis paralysis. Zizek’s writings just excite me.

Anyway, it’s by physically going to the gym and interacting with women we come to believe ourselves men capable of such acts. Consequently, when partaking in rituals like porn and willy whacking, we in time construct the beliefs that we are mimics and spectators who must maintain distance from the real thing. You can’t read or YouTube yourself into becoming a gym bro or guy who is successful with women. Instead of expecting these mediums to spur you to action, use research and knowledge to reflect and spur innovation and iteration for future action.

For example, I used to chronically watch nomad capitalist and read travel blogs by expats with the idea that one day I would be knowledgeable and courageous enough to move out of my home country. This was classical analysis paralysis of course. If I wanted to fulfill my fantasy of being Mr. Worldwide, I was going to have to do some imperfect travelling. Fortunately, I eventually did and over some time and trips, built a strong support network of locals and expats. It was only by taking physical action and trips I came to believe myself possible of what before was too radical.

We all know at some point we must “just do it” but by learning and integrating the theory; I now had the intellectual courage to make moves with an understanding of the how and why. Belief was not this nebulous slippery or indestructible thing I had to fool myself in or out of. Beliefs are fluid and subject to change based on our actions and environment. Our actions and environment are ultimately what builds us and matters most. The best belief I ever built this way is that my actions matter and make a difference. To me, this is what rejecting the black pill for the red pill is truly about.