The seductive space between intention and action

We hear it all the time: “Mindset is everything.”

And yet, when things aren’t working the way we hoped, it’s rarely the first place we look.
We look outward.

At timing. Tools. Algorithms. Budgets. Other people.

All valid pieces of the puzzle, but maybe not the whole story.

Because sometimes, it’s not a lack of knowledge or opportunity or talent that holds us back.

It’s how we think. The lens we’re looking through. The persistent stories playing in the background.

So why don’t we like to admit that?

Why is it hard to name our own mindset as part of the reason we’re stuck?

Here are a few ideas—some from experience, some from observation, all very human:

1.

If it’s mindset, it means it’s on us.

And that can feel heavy.

Because if the thing holding us back is internal, not external, then suddenly we’re responsible for shifting it.

And if we try—and it doesn’t work—it can feel deeply personal.

So instead, we stay in the grey area:

“Maybe it’s just not the right time.”

“Maybe I need to learn more first.”

That space feels safer. Less confronting.

It holds the possibility that things could go well… without the risk of proving otherwise.

2.

The space between intention and action really is seductive.

Steven Bartlett once referenced a book that explores this idea:

The gap between saying you’re going to do something and actually doing it is a kind of sweet spot.

People cheer you on.

You feel inspired, clear, full of potential.

But nothing’s been tested yet.

That space feels good. Sometimes, it’s easier to stay there than step into the discomfort of actually doing the thing.

3.

Ideas are easier (and more romantic) than the graft.

Often, we mistake fear for a stop sign.

Any hint of panic, self-doubt or fear, and we take it as a signal that we’re not cut out for it. That we’re not ready.

The thing is, ideas are easy. It’s the doing (and the sticking with it) that takes effort, time, and sacrifice.

And unfortunately, many of us just aren’t willing to go there. We’re tired, we’re busy, we’re stretched as is.

You see, in our imagination, we get to enjoy the romantic version of what we want to build, without the graft and strain it takes to make it real.

So what do we do with all this?

Grab a coffee and settle in for part 2.