Thought and Action

I once saw a question on a personality quiz that read, “Which do you value more, thought or action?”  This struck me as a silly choice, and it bugged me that the premise implied that both thought and action are always good things.  The truth looks more like this:

Thought Without Action = Contemplation

Action Without Thought = Spontaneity

Thought and Action Together = Initiative

No Action, No Thought = Meditation

Contemplation is important for relaxing and reenergizing one’s mind.  Spontaneity fuels your creativity and sense of humor.  Initiative shapes who you are, realizes courage and fulfills ambition.  Meditation gets you in touch with your senses, feelings, and present self.  

We do all of these things throughout the day, without having to make a conscious decision - “I am going to be spontaneous now!”  There’s plenty of grey area between them, and one floats from one territory to another naturally.  Valuing each one is important, and being conscious of which zone you're in relative to another person can be useful for recognizing sources of conflict.