Be on the move or act now
Tags: productivity, programming, discuss, hacktoberfest
Published: 2021-11-01 12:10:24

## Introduction

Hey, DEV world! 👋

Today's topic of discussion will be around a very intriguing subject: 

— **To be in motion or to act?**

This topic came to my mind when I was looking for a project for [Hacktoberfest](https://github.com/topics/hacktoberfest) 2021, when I was going through numerous projects with this hashtag on GitHub for the whole evening. 

And then I closed my laptop with a feeling of satisfaction… but I still hadn't chosen a project or written a line of code!

Let's get started! 👇

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### 📝 Table of contents

- [What is the difference between movement and action?](#what-is-the-difference-between-movement-and-action)
- [A life story to cover this principle](#a-life-story-to-cover-this-principle)
- [Talk about it](#talk-about-it)

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## What is the difference between movement and action?

You probably think that “**being on the move**” and “**acting**” are the same thing. Not exactly! Have you ever caught yourself thinking that it seems like a lot has been done, but there are no results? 

— **This is the “trap” because you've mistaken “motion” for “action”.**

When we are in motion, we are strategizing, planning, or seeking knowledge. This can make it feel like we're moving forward, when in fact we're no closer to results at all. 

Actions, on the other hand, bring **concrete** results. For example:

❌ To come up with 15 ideas for an article is to be in motion.
✅ To write a specific one article is already action.

❌ Watching numerous tutorial videos about programming is to be in motion.
✅ Developing a real application is already an action.

❌ Learning information about proper nutrition is to be in motion. 
✅ Eating right is already an action.

It's critical to realize this frontier to become aware of many things in your work and even life, and to be more productive where you are now.

[↑ Table of contents](#toc)

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## A life story to cover this principle

I like one of the stories I read in [this](https://t.me/zhashkevychdev) Telegram channel (in Russian, sorry), where this same topic brought up (_which is where I got my inspiration for this discussion_).

> It encapsulates perfectly the principle I've already announced earlier.

On the first day of film photography class, [Jerry Uelsmann](https://www.uelsmann.net/), a photographer and professor at the University of Florida, divided all the students into two groups. The goal of the first group was to work on quantity, the second on quality.

At the end of the semester, students in the first group will receive grades based on the number of pictures taken: 

- One hundred pictures — 5 points;
- Ninety pictures — 4 points;
- …and so on;

![people in the second group looks like this](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/w7zsbjxpooh2cr5ht4dx.jpg)

Students in the second group will receive marks based on a subjective assessment of the quality of a single photo. By the end of the semester they only need to take one photo, but to get 5 points, it must be almost perfect.

— **Which group do you think took the best pictures?**

As it turns out, the highest quality pictures taken by the participants in the first group. By practicing a lot, such as lighting, composition, and testing different angles to get the right number of shots, they honed their skills and increased their chances of taking a classy picture.

The second group spent a lot of time thinking and searching for ideas for the perfect photo. They were constantly **on the move**, but not in action.

[↑ Table of contents](#toc)

<a name="#talk-about-it"></a>
## Talk about it

Being on the move is important! But if it doesn't lead to concrete action, it doesn't make any sense. Write what you think about this topic in the comments. 

**Let's discuss it together now!** 💬

[↑ Table of contents](#toc)

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## Photos and videos by

- Thought Catalog https://unsplash.com/photos/FACFpJVoMJs
- Alif Ngoylung https://unsplash.com/photos/jg-6ARMiaPM

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## P.S.

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My projects that need your help (and stars) 👇

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[gowebly_url]: https://github.com/gowebly
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[csv2api_url]: https://github.com/koddr/csv2api
[json2csv_url]: https://github.com/koddr/json2csv