I know you are watching more videos on self-help, and, by the way, it’s strange how, in today’s generation, people are watching more self-help content than they ever did and still feel lost, lonely, and stuck with the same goals for years. I am not here to talk about how we should avoid it or do anything about it. I am here to talk about a very essential aspect of it, and that is working.

During the summer break from my college studies, I tried to become fluent in English. So, as any beginner would do, I opened YouTube, searched for this topic, and watched countless videos on “how to improve spoken English.” I kept doing it and listed important practices that help people achieve the goal quickly. (This is what everyone wants: to learn it quickly.) I started my journey to become fluent in it. As the days went on, I got bored with it because there were so many practices to do. I don’t have a discipline problem, but at one point, I was unable to get through it, and suddenly, I stopped doing it. Afterward, I knew the best ways to learn English, but then I went to YouTube for the same tricks. The same thing happened again, and after doing this for some time, I identified the problem.

The problem I am going to talk about did not exist earlier in this world. It’s a new type of problem created by us through the information revolution. It is called “pleasure from watching and talking about things rather than doing them.”

I want to tell you a story. Research was conducted with two groups of people who were assigned to make pottery from clay. The researchers told one group that the person who made the most pottery would win, and they told the other group that the person who made the finest pottery would win.

When the classes were about to conclude, the researchers asked for all the pottery they had made. And guess what? (I had thought the group assigned to make the finest pottery would win.) But the group that made the highest number of pieces also made the best and finest one. The reason is simple: from the first day, they started making pottery and improving daily. The other group talked, sought expert advice, and attended many seminars on pottery. They only started making it during the final days of the classes.

What I really mean to say here is that doing the actual work will move you forward. Talking or dreaming will not make you better at it. Searching for tricks does matter, but if you don’t apply them, they will not be beneficial to you.

Just do it and improve as you go.