To live well we must research, reflect, collaborate and act. What is the right equation of those lifeways?
Research
We must be informed to live well. This is particularly true in this age of excessive, accessible information.
Reflect
We must reflect upon what we learn, what we do, and who we live/learn/act with. Reflection rights our directions.
Collaborate
To work solely on your own can skew your efforts in errant ways. We need the support and critique of others to do the best possible work.
Act
To research and reflect alone without action is empty--our actions bring truth to what we do.
What is the right equation of these lifeways? I believe the right equation differs from person to person. Some people act and act and act--their actions are well directed and they do good work. Some people err on the side of reflection and research--what they research and reflect upon helps others to right their course, see the world in truthful ways. And of course, there are those who are great collaborators who work with their teams in multiple ways to do good work.
No matter what equation is right for you, you must engage in each of these endeavors in some way. For example, I can easily err on the side of too much research and reflection and not enough action, but I know that action is critical to good work. As an educator, that was never an issue since my days were filled with action, perhaps too much action with not enough time for reflection, research, or collaboration, but now, I have to make sure I act and collaborate each week to challenge my reflection and research. Action and collaboration tests the reflection and research I do. For example, today will be a day of action--a day of service, a day when I'll essentially test my beliefs about helping others and supporting others' dreams and needs. I've thought a lot about how to do this, I've done some research, and today I'll put that into action, and I'll likely receive some critique and support with this action which will lead me to reflect and research more.
Good work and good living requires reflection, research, collaboration, and action? The right equation will differ from one person to another, but what's important is that we all include all four of these elements in our lives in order to live as well as we can. Onward.