I meant to get you a gift. I apologized … or forgave them … in my mind. I had every intention of … fill in the blank. All meaningless phrases. At the end of the day, you either did or you didn’t. What actually counts is effort, follow though, and results.

Thoughts do count in the sense Ralph Waldo Emerson meant saying, “The ancestor of every action is a thought.”  A beautiful and true idea.  And yet, negative or even destructive thoughts can be overcome.  Acting on them, however, is quite permanent.

We may think we’re going to do the work while we busy ourselves with preparations and distractions. What a surprise when the clock runs out and it never happened. That’s when you might examine your thoughts. Retrace your cognitive “ancestry” to find the mistake or miscalculation.

For instance, I love golf. At the start of every hole, I visualize perfection. And at the end, I write down what actually happened. When you keep accurate score, in sport and life, there’s often a sizable gap between thoughts and results. And in that gap is the opportunity to rethink, adjust, and try again.

Because the rest of Emerson’s idea was, “Sow a thought, and you reap an action. Sow an action, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.” Note the emphasis on the actual work. Sowing. Planting. Doing.

So, question your beliefs and self judgments. Work to change or at least suspend the ones that undermine you. Then, don’t overthink it. Act. Try. Do. Because action with intention and accountability will take you places your thoughts may not imagine. Until next week, stay Off Balance On Purpose.