“Talk doesn’t cook rice.”

This old Chinese proverb is a great reminder that there’s often a big gap between talking and doing. I’m sure we all know our share of people who’ve bent our ears from time to time talking about what they’re going to accomplish, but who never seem to get out of the starting gate. I’ve been there myself.

Here’s how it often goes:

They talk about what they hope to do.

They talk about what they want to do.

They talk about what they’d love to do.

They talk about what they’re planning to do.

They talk about what they wish they could do.

And eventually, they talk.about what they wish they’d done.

There’s an old children’s riddle that does like this: Three frogs are sitting on a log. One of them decides to jump off the log. How many frogs are there still on the log?

The answer is three: Just because one frog decided to jump off doesn’t mean he or she actually did it.

And so it is with us. There’s a big gap between deciding and doing, just as there is between talking and taking action.

So let’s not fritter away our energy talking instead of doing. While it’s important to share our dreams and goals with fellow scribes, sometimes we get more caught up in rhapsodizing than writing.

What’s the cure for talking too much? Doing more! So let’s get busy boiling water and cooking our rice. Write on!

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