On Getting Out of Your Own Way
The phrase “Put your mind in neutral, your ass in gear” comes from old-school blue-collar wisdom — a mechanic’s or trucker’s saying that later found its way into locker rooms and military briefings. It’s blunt, funny, and disarmingly profound. Beneath the grit lies a message every overthinker eventually learns the hard way: sometimes, the brain needs to step aside so action can take the wheel.
For me, this line speaks to the moments when thought becomes a trap — when you’re so busy analyzing what could go wrong that you forget to move at all. I’ve seen this play out in both my hiking and climbing pursuits and my time building Cask Data.
On a steep trail or a challenging ascent, hesitation is the enemy. When you stop mid-step to question your next move, fear rushes in, muscles tense, and momentum vanishes. The only way forward is to shift from thinking to doing — to trust the rhythm, your preparation, and the process. Once motion begins, confidence follows.
The same lesson played out countless times at Cask. In the early stages of building a company, overanalyzing can masquerade as diligence. Every decision feels existential — every move, permanent. But startups are built on iteration, not perfection. There came a point where we had to quiet the endless “what ifs,” stop tweaking plans, and just execute. When we finally did, progress accelerated — not because we knew more, but because we were finally learning through doing.
“Put your mind in neutral” doesn’t mean turning your brain off. It means freeing it from friction — the doubt, fear, and second-guessing that keep you stuck in the driveway. Once you engage — once you move — the gears mesh, and energy converts into momentum.
Over time, I’ve realized that clarity often arrives after movement, not before it. Thinking is useful, but doing is revealing. The trail looks different once you take the first few steps. The problem looks smaller once you start solving it.
Because progress doesn’t come from perfect thinking —
it comes from imperfect action.
When in doubt, ease your mind — and move your feet.