Two weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a colleague about why things just don’t get done in Africa. He said something that struck me deeply: “We like the idea of things, not the things being.”

That statement hit me like a eureka moment. It opened a rabbit hole I’ve been exploring ever since, and the more I think about it, the more I realise he’s right.

When you understand this concept: the “idea of things”, you begin to see why people fail to show up when they’re needed, especially in group projects or initiatives. It hurts less once you realise the pattern: we admire ideas, but rarely follow through with action. Our standards for execution are painfully low.

The Idea of Things

We talk endlessly about programs, projects, and solutions. We love to speak about change. But deep down, we’re often not truly committed to the doing. We romanticise progress instead of pursuing it.

And that’s where the real problem lies, especially for those who genuinely believe in these ideas and want to see them come to life. They end up carrying the weight while others just admire the concept.

In Families

Take families, for example. Many parents say they want their children to “grow up.” But when those children begin to act independently, suddenly it becomes a problem. They liked the idea of growth, not what it actually means in practice.

In Governance

It’s the same with governance. We like the idea of democracy, but we are not truly for it. We still hold on to monarchical and traditional systems that have never served us well. We say we want modern leadership but behave as though we prefer old hierarchies.

The Lack of Practicality

We are not practical people. We love the theory of things: the talk, the planning, the appearances. But when it’s time to execute, to see things through to the end, we often fall short.
Why? Because we don’t tell ourselves the truth. Because there’s a deep-rooted lack of agency.

Low Agency

George Mack describes high agency as the mindset of people who believe they can shape their own lives. They don’t wait for perfect conditions; they act.

Unfortunately, that’s not who we are, collectively. Our “idea of things” mindset has produced a generation of low-agency individuals: people who admire success stories but don’t take the initiative to create their own.

High agency, as Mack puts it, is one of those “I know it when I see it” concepts. Once you recognise it, you can’t unsee it. But here’s the hard truth: We inherited a brain evolved for survival in scarcity, and an education system built to produce factory workers, not creators.
So unless we intentionally reprogram ourselves, we’ll keep defaulting to low-agency living.

Intentionality

So, how do you rise above this?
How do you become someone who not only believes in ideas but lives them out?

You do it by being intentional. By acting with purpose. By deciding that you will no longer do things for the sake of appearances or approval. You give your time, energy, and resources only to things you truly believe in.

Be deliberate. Be different. Don’t just admire the idea of things: be for the thing itself.