I Do, Therefore I Am

Don't whittle your life away being a consumer of knowledge. Simply thinking and dreaming does not define you.

“You’ve never lived what you are thinking, and that isn’t good. Only the ideas we actually live are of any value.” ― Hermann Hesse

You are not what you think. You are what you do.

René Descartes is known for the phrase “cogito ergo sum” or “I think, therefore I am.” Being conscious of your existence and asking questions about the universe is a metaphysical argument in favor of “I am.” Kudos to Descartes on that front.

But what is thought without action? It is simply knowledge.

Pairing thought with action puts knowledge to the test. They intermingle within the strict confines of reality and your own capabilities. In the process, two important things happen:

1. You become something more. Wisdom is gained.

2. The world around you is impacted for better or worse.

With only thought, you exist. Paired with action, you discover WHAT you are in a vast series of experiments.

To what end?

In the beginning, you simply mimic those around you. New thoughts and experiences from action flood the senses and wire the mind. Rapid growth is achieved in someone else’s image.

At some point, you rebel and separate to sample something new. It is the equivalent of traveling and experiencing other cultures. You try each one on to see if it fits.

Ultimately, your deeper need for meaning takes over. One day you wake up and wonder what all of this knowledge and action is for. When that day arrives, it is time to focus on what is meaningful.

Finding meaning is a game of hot and cold. Wisdom and its medium of experience teach you much about what resonates. Use it to find WHAT and WHO you are.

Then you can say...

“I do, therefore I am ___.”

Fill in the blank.