Just Do Something

During graduate school, I worked for a couple of years at the college counseling center at Virginia Commonwealth University. There used to be a well-known psychologist who worked there named Jack Corazzini. I never met him, because he passed away before I worked there. But all the counselors still talked about him.

There was one quote from Jack Corazzini that stuck with me: It’s not what you do; it’s what you do with what you do that matters. What he meant was that sometimes beginning counselors worry a lot about which interventions they should employ in session. These decisions were especially complex in group counseling, which was Corazzini’s specialty.

But Corazzini said that often it isn’t all that important what specific intervention you choose. There isn’t usually one “right” thing to do. The important thing is to do something, and then see what comes up in the counseling room. That second part-what you do with what you do-is more important.

I think this suggestion is helpful in everyday life. Sometimes we get anxious trying to figure out what the “correct” next step is. Should I take this job, or that job? Should I marry this person, or that person? Should I go to this church, or that church? Should I volunteer for this ministry, or spend more time with my family? And so on.

Sometimes we worry a lot and try to figure out the correct course of action, but there may not be one choice that is clearly best. Because of our anxiety and desire to choose the one “correct” option, we might get stuck, and not do anything. But sometimes it doesn’t matter so much what we do. Often it is better to just do something, and then see what comes up for us. Remember, it isn’t so much what you do that’s important, but what you do with what you do that counts.

Discussion: Do you struggle to figure out the “best” course of action? What would it look like for you to just do something, and then see what comes up?