On the Continuity of Thought and Action

Things happen because you are doing something.

And sometimes, things happen even when you are doing nothing.

So, you might think it is more beneficial to do something yourself and bring about the results you desire.

Otherwise, your time will be taken up by nothing but results you never wanted.

You feel pain because you are alive.

You fell because you walked.

You are lost because you want to move forward.

You want to run away because you are fighting.

You must doubt yourself and keep on thinking!

You must keep refining your precision to the absolute limit!

In any case, if you move, energy will be replenished.

Courage will also well up.

The world you see will also change by moving.

Right now, I don't know what to do.

Even if I have no ideas, will something emerge if I move?

Will it come into view?

That is not the case.

Thinking is just as important as acting.

If I dare say, are you spending as much time thinking as you are acting?

Of course, action is important.

However, it is self-evident that whether or not one acts is always conditional.

And simply accumulating actions does not constitute experience.

What is most important depends on the quality of experience that is held.

It is not that 'experience = experience,' but rather that it only becomes 'experience' after reflection.

In other words, it is important not only to 'experience things,' but also to 'look back on experiences and find relationships within them.'

Dewey expressed this 'reflective thinking' in the following five stages.

1. Facing a problem (This is the first and most important item; for Dewey, who emphasizes the act of experiencing, a problem refers to a pressing situation that a learner encounters in daily life. This pressing situation is synonymous with the authenticity of an activity, and authenticity means that what one sees, hears, and experiences in daily life has a sense of reality.)

2. Clarifying the location of the problem

3. Clarifying tentative solutions for resolution

4. Verifying tentative solutions through reasoning

5. Verifying tentative solutions through action

When considering the quality of experience, it is important to think in order to find the relationship between the actions taken and the results of those actions. (Reflective Thinking)

①Continuity

Experience is continuous; one experience influences subsequent experiences, and the quality of those subsequent experiences also changes.

②Interaction

Normal experience is formed through the interaction between objective conditions, represented by the surrounding environment, and internal conditions, which are the changes within oneself.

In other words, experience is formed as the environment and the individual's inner self mutually influence each other.

To make use of this reflective thinking, we must be aware that our thoughts are an internalization of dialogue with others.

It is precisely because we assume we are dealing with others who do not necessarily follow our intentions, without sharing the premises held by both sides, that our thoughts are organized through the interlocutor and become capable of having some form of coherence (inference).

Could it not be said that understanding is the foundation built collaboratively, where both parties in a dialogue, through their exchange, come to know each other's intentions and premises that were not even clear to themselves (taking them into their own minds), and then confirm them with each other (to understand/to grasp: to comprehend with one's own mind)?

There is a significant difference between 'knowing' and 'understanding'.

'Knowing' is simply putting information or knowledge into one's head.

However, to truly grasp that information or knowledge, one must break it down and process it into a state of 'understanding' as a logic or structure, so it is undeniable that there are limits to understanding when kept within oneself.

However, for example, in written language, if you feel that the logic is well-constructed in your own mind but it is not conveyed well to the other party and leads to misunderstandings, you should be aware that the following points may be lacking.

1There are leaps or gaps in the logic

2You have failed to eliminate the possibility of interpretations other than your own intent

3You have not realized that other interpretations are possible as a premise

If that is the case, it can be inferred that there is no superiority between those who think while doing and those who think before acting, and the point of self-evaluation is whether the result of the continuity of thought and action is moving in the direction of growth or achievement.

Furthermore, if there is one more point to be careful about, it is considered that rather than spending time changing yourself, you should make an effort to make the most of yourself.

[Reference Materials]
● Stop trying to find your true self
Come up with many 'future self-images' and focus on a few that you want to try and learn from.

● Accept the transition period
It is okay to be inconsistent in your actions, such as clinging to things or letting them go.
It is better to leave contradictions unresolved than to reach a premature conclusion.

● Accumulate 'small wins'
By accumulating 'small wins,' the basic criteria for judgment in your work and life will eventually change significantly.
Sometimes you may want to make a big decision that changes everything at once, but try to resist such temptations.
Accept the winding road.

● Try it out first
Find a way to get a feel for the content and methods of new work.
If you put it into practice in parallel with your current work, you can test it before reaching a conclusion.

● Think from a distance. But don't spend too much time on it.
If you get stuck in your thinking and don't know what to do, try stepping away from the state of obsessing over the motives and processes of change.
(Quoted from '9 Unconventional Strategies for Finding a New Career')

[Reference Article]

I know because I have given up over and over again myself.

That you cannot trust your own will even a little bit.

That you find 'reasons not to do it' before 'reasons to do it' and use them as excuses.

Even thinking about this and that in your head and examining things like 'Is this better than that?' is a waste of time.

Just keep doing something calmly.

Looking at the results accumulated in this way, you shatter your fixed ideas.

Then, a new reality appears there once again. Life is a repetition of this.

When you have truly been able to let go, everyone should surely feel this way.

"Huh? I feel like I can do anything now (lol)."

Once you realize that, you really can do anything.

Scientific thinking is realizing that there is value in "knowing that something is a mistake."