Don’t Sit and Stew. Go and Do.
There’s a story of a young man tasked with something that seemed impossible: build a ship large enough to carry his family across unfamiliar water, a voyage that would take several months to complete.
The young man had a few older brothers who thought he was foolish, and perhaps not without reason. They had watched their little brother put up a tent in the past, and he couldn’t even do that right.
But the young man was determined. Undaunted and undeterred by the jeering of his brothers, he climbed literal mountains to find ore to make tools. He gathered wood from far away. Both of these activities served to strengthen his body, so when it came time to work the heavy timbers, he was capable.
It’s worth noting that the young man’s skeptical brothers, after some difficult experiences of their own, helped him build the ship, and while it took considerable time, he and they succeeded in building a ship that didn’t sink (to the relief of his family).
I talked to a friend while running (we don’t run fast enough to making talking impossible) about this particular story because it’s one that’s familiar to both of us. My friend wisely said that the young man is a great example of this principle:
Don’t sit and stew. Go and do.
