“Knowing is not enough; we have to apply. Wanting is not enough; we must do.”
Johann Wolfgang by Goethe
“Do not wait. The time will never be exactly right.”
Napoleon Hill
What makes dreams come true?
I believe that perhaps the most important – and often ignored – thing is simply taking action.
When I was younger, I was really bad at that.
I usually got stuck then.
I got stuck in my dreams of what I wanted to do.
I got stuck in analysis paralysis because of my habit of overthinking things. I got stuck in procrastination and pessimism.
However, a lot has changed since then. I have added many new habits that help me take much more action than before.
I hope this week’s article will help you do the same.
1. Start your day right by doing the most important thing.
I first heard about this about twenty years ago when I was selling computers.
The boss told us that if we did the most important task of the day – often one of the more difficult ones – first thing in the morning, the rest of the day would be a lot easier and lighter.
He was right about that.
Once that first and most important task is done, you don’t have to worry about it anymore. It won’t burden your day. You feel good about yourself.
And you will have less inner resistance to take action for the rest of the day.
2. Just take responsibility for your actions and the process.
I like this quote from the ancient Sanskrit-Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita:
‘You are only entitled to action and never to its fruits; let not the fruits of your actions be your motive; Let there also be no attachment in you to passivity.’
Why?
Because every time I look at it or remind myself of it, I feel a kind of freedom and relief.
This quote reminds me to understand that I have no control over the results of my action. I have no control over how someone responds to what I say or what I do.
It reminds me that it usually works better for me to stay motivated to keep doing what I’m doing when I’m doing something I really enjoy.
Basically I do what I think is right and that is my responsibility. And then the rest (the possible outcomes), well, I can’t decide or try to control that.
I let it go.
Taking action becomes a much easier task when all you have to do is take responsibility for doing what you think is right.
3. Don’t feel like doing it? Start small.
Getting the most important things done in your day and preparing yourself for an action-packed day sounds great in theory.
But in reality, you will have unmotivated days.
Days when you feel emotionally down or when you are confronted with something you don’t want to do.
That’s life. But there’s no reason to let that sink your day into inactivity and feeling sorry for yourself.
I have found that the best thing for these situations is to start very small. To just…
- Write for 1-2 minutes.
- Lift free weights for just a few reps.
- Spend one minute starting on something I’m afraid of.
Then I have the choice to do something else.
But I rarely do that.
I just need an easy way to get started and when I get moving, I usually stay moving for a while.
4. Don’t hurt yourself.
This is a powerful motivator for me to grow and become a better person.
If I don’t do what I think deep down is the right thing to do, I harm myself and my self-esteem. What I do – or don’t do – during the day sends powerful signals back to me about what kind of person I am.
There is no escaping yourself. And there is always a price to pay for not doing what you think is right.
5. A reminder to focus.
If you don’t often remind yourself of what you need to focus on and why you’re doing it, it’s easy to let days go by or spend too much time on less important things.
So make a simple reminder on a piece of paper. For example, you can write down:
- Your top 3 priorities in life right now.
- Your most important goal or new habit for the next 30 days.
- A motto or quote that you want to stay focused on and live by at this moment in your life.
6. Stay accountable to the people in your life.
An accountability buddy can help you stay on track and continue taking action toward your goal or dream, even when the initial enthusiasm has faded.
For example, many of you as readers help me stay accountable for providing useful content. I constantly get feedback about whether I am doing things in a useful or less useful way. I get a lot of encouragement.
People closer to me in my life help me stay responsible for things like not eating too many unhealthy things, exercising and not working too much.
Find someone in real life or online who also wants to get in better shape. Or start a business online. Motivate each other.
Hold each other accountable so you take action and move forward every week.
7. Cycle fully concentrated work and completely relaxing rest.
Buy your kitchen timer or use the stopwatch function on your phone.
Set the timer for 45 minutes. During those minutes, just work on your most important task/small step forward. Nothing else. No distractions.
After these 45 minutes are over, take a relaxing break.
Distract yourself on Facebook if you want. Or step away from your work station and take a short walk, stretch or eat an apple for the next 15 minutes.
By working through these fully concentrated periods, you will:
- Get more done and higher quality work.
- You can concentrate longer during the day and week and become less tired.
- Train yourself to focus on one thing at a time, instead of getting stuck in your mind between work and play and building up internal friction and stress.
- Being able to enjoy your rest periods without any compunctions.
45 minutes of work too much?
Try 25 minutes instead.
Delay half way through your 25 minute period?
Set the timer for 10 or 5 minutes and build up the time over the coming weeks and months so that you can fully concentrate on the work.
8. Focus more on the how and less on the what-if.
If your thoughts start to spin as you think about taking action, shout in your head: STOP!
Don’t get stuck in the negative spiral of analysis paralysis.
Of course, in many cases it’s smart to think before you act, but thinking too much often becomes a way to control things you have no control over, or to simply stay away from action because you’re on one or the other side. you’re afraid in some other way.
After you say, stop that train of thought, open your mind to what you CAN DO, instead of all the things that could go wrong in the worst case scenario.
Ask yourself questions like:
- What is one small step I can take today to move forward toward my goal or get out of this situation?
- What can I learn from this situation?
Write down the answers you come up with and take action.
9. People don’t really care what you do, so don’t let that stop you.
When I was younger, I almost always let what people thought or said stop me from doing something, and I got stuck doing nothing.
It was more of a self-centered belief than an accurate one.
In reality, people have their own things going on in busy lives.
They think about the job, the kids, a partner, the cat, a vacation, what to eat and they worry about what you and other people will think of them.
You’re probably not the main character in other people’s lives. Even if you are in your own life.
A realization that can be a bit disappointing, but something that can also free you from self-imposed bonds.
10. Use enthusiasm.
When you dream and start working on something new in life, enthusiasm flows like a fountain.
A few weeks later it may have decreased considerably. Don’t let that make you stop if you think this is something you want to continue doing.
Instead, take advantage of the enthusiasm around you.
- Let your accountability buddy’s enthusiasm flow over to you and create a flow back to him or her by being enthusiastic about his or her goals and dreams.
- Listen to podcasts or audiobooks from inspiring people.
- Read blogs, websites and take courses that help you get a dose of enthusiasm every week.
- Let the enthusiasm of friends, children or pets wash over you.
- Listen to music and watch movies or YouTube videos that increase your zest for life.
Bring the enthusiasm of the rest of the world into your life.
11. Add the fun.
Some tasks are just boring or not fun at all.
Then try this while you’re doing them, for a little fun:
- Add some music that energizes and inspires you.
- Make it a game where you compete with a friend to see who can finish something first or do the most of something in 10 or 30 minutes.
Change your perspective on what you’re doing, lighten things up a bit and it usually becomes a lot easier to take significant action on what you may have been putting off for a while.
12. Celebrate what you did today.
At the end of the day, take two minutes to reflect, appreciate, and celebrate what you took action on today. No matter how small the action may have been.
It will:
