Deciding on Action

I came across a story as I was reading The Noticer (p. 111) and thought I would reprint it and comment.

"Five seagulls are sitting on a dock. One of them decides to fly away. How many seagulls are left (on the dock)?"

"Well . . . four." (was the reply)

"No. There are still five. Deciding to fly away and actually flying away are two very different things."

For some reason, that struck me as funny as well as quite to the point. Intentions are fine and good, but without action, they are of little consequence. One of the reasons for the 19-day challenge was to make a point of taking action, even if there are times when I can't decide on a course of action (or a topic to write on) or don't particularly feel like writing. By getting into the habit of committing to a course of action, the things that inhibit our opportunities due to inaction are lessened.