When I was in college I decided to take up ice skating. During those early days on the ice, I remember my roommate laughing hysterically as he watched me from the sidelines try to regain my balance. “Leary,” he said, “why don’t you just sit down instead of flailing your arms so wildly? You look silly and you might hurt yourself.” Indeed, I’m sure I did. Yet doing nothing often comes hard for me. I’ve long been a proponent of Teddy Roosevelt’s advise in alternate form: “Don’t just sit there, do something.” But, is doing something always preferable to doing nothing? Might there also be occasions where relaxing rather than flailing would be the better choice? In those instances, my friend’s advice in alternate form might be more appropriate: “Don’t just do something, sit there.”

Your thoughts? Do you think action is always preferable to inaction?