Taking action in steps will achieve goals. So why is it so tough to take these steps?
Distractions
Have you ever wanted to get something done but got distracted?
There are many distractions, but some are more subtle than others.
Sometimes we fall prey to things that aren’t even distractions, but because we take them in excess, they turn into distractions.
Like research.
If we need to write a research paper, but all we do is the research, we won’t ever start the paper.
There’s a time to learn, and then there’s a time to act.
Likewise, it’s important to recognize that taking action is different than getting motivated to take that action.
When it comes down to it, motivation puts us in the mindset to prep ourselves to tackle goals, but it does not achieve goals.
Only action can do that.
The Nature of Motivation
Motivation feels good.
As we conjure up a positive vision for the future, those motivation vibes are generated and we’ll want to put in work.
Motivation serves a great purpose because it’ll likely catapult us into taking action in something that is important to us.
Motivation can be fleeting though.
Becoming motivated is a bit passive.
Putting in work is active.
When we confuse actually putting in the work with getting motivated, something happens –
We start to believe that being motivated and thinking about what it is we’re going to do is the same thing as taking action.
We might continue going back to the sources of motivation when we are feeling down.
Going back to these sources that get us motivated is going to feel great, but we’ve got to make sure that it’s not causing us in these down moments to avoid the real medicine: Taking action.
Work Ethic
Being a practitioner and taking action helps break the walls of self-doubt, fear and laziness.
During those wall moments when we are burned out and don’t feel like doing our stuff anymore, nothing is going to carry us through like the habit of taking meaningful action.
We all reach a point when we settle down from the motivational hype.
Regardless of how we’re feeling, if we continue putting in the work, we’ll have pushed passed the hype.
This is empowering because now it’s us who says when we take action and when we take a break, not the motivation.
When we feel motivated, we feel as if we’re able to take on the world.
When we take action, we are taking on the world.
Lasting Motivation
Learning about personal development and taking part in the immersion of motivational media can get us on track to something great.
But the key in developing sustainable motivation and momentum will be found in taking action.
Taking action can be difficult because a lot of the time we feel like it needs to be at the right moment, that the circumstances need to be perfect, that we need to be perfect.
Here’s a part of a speech given by Eric Thomas that gets me –
“You don’t have to be perfect to get what you want, to do what you want, to have what you want, to be what you want. You don’t have to be perfect, it’s a lie. There will never be a point in your life where it’s the right time to do a great thing. If you’re waiting for that perfect, perfect moment, that perfect timing, it’s not going to happen. You know what you have to do? You have to create the perfect time, and the perfect opportunity, and the perfect situation.”
Conclusion
When somebody has been at it all day, putting in work and beating at their craft, at the end of the day, they may not feel totally comfortable or well rested, but they don’t have any regrets for that day.
A large part of taking action has to do with getting out of our mind, out of the norm, out of our comfort zones and just starting.
We don’t need to be ready for anything.
There is not a right time to start something new, to start working on a goal or to start developing ourselves.
Let’s begin.
Great tips you’ve given us!
Breaking down your goals into bite sized tasks is the best way to tackle any problem or achieve any goal in life. I have started doing this recently.
I’ve also been using the pomodoro technique to get more work done. If you’ve never heard of it, I suggest you look it up. It really does increase your productivity!
Yeah I’ll look that up – sounds interesting!
I used to be very “motivated” but lacks action. Now, I take it one day at a time. I set a goal of what I want to achieve for that day and make sure I take action. I still go back and see my source of inspirations once in a while to consume them again but not for long. It can be very distracting. TAKING ACTION is indeed the key.
Regards,
Pitin
That’s right, thanks for sharing Pitin
Hi Jon, you have an amazing post, all you are saying is abtolutely true, motivation is important but it is only one aspect of many that are necessary to get things done. One thing I have learned is that if you want things done you need discipline, I think it could be the most important aspect. I follow Eric Thomas as well, I watch his T.G.I.M videos on youtube.
Congratulations for your website.
Eric Thomas is one of my favorite motivational speakers, I didn’t know he had a youtube account though, I’ll look into that for sure
I like your sight was not expecting what i read,
Very uplifting and positive!
Its the kind of sight I would go to when im feeling down, so I would get lifted up, abd your right we need to work hard to feel good. Thanks for the post and I look forward to more
Thanks Tara!
I agree with you – taking action makes you feel good, because you feel like you have accomplished something, and you are closer to your end goal.
There is nothing worse than having no motivation, and I have seen many people like this, and they eventually end up so depressed that they really don’t want to do anything.
I am sure this blog will help many people in this situation.
Great read! I go in and out of motivation states. There are some days that I feel I can conquer the world and others that I can barely bring myself to do simple tasks.I try to remind myself that I just need to get over the hump and the motivation will come back. It’s not always easy. Thank you for the reminder that we only live once. So true!
Yeah I feel that is how it is for most of us, how motivated we feel is a little out of our control sometimes, but something we can always control is the effort we are going to put in
When I was young I wasn’t all that motivated and it hurt me later on in life. Now, I find that as long as I have important tasks I can get up the motivation to get things done.
I really like this quote from above: “If you’re waiting for that perfect, perfect moment, that perfect timing, it’s not going to happen. You know what you have to do? You have to create the perfect time, and the perfect opportunity, and the perfect situation.”
That is so true!
Waiting for something just leaves you waiting. Actually DOING SOMETHING will bring opportunities to you. I’ve learned this first-hand when I built a business 20 something years ago. I realized no one was going to do anything for me so I had to do it myself.
Thanks for the inspirational message!
Yeah I love that quote too, and like you, I myself found it very difficult to get motivated in the past
Wow very nice post. Just what I needed right now. Just like the saying you miss 100 shots you don’t take. I get discouraged at times when trying to reach my goals. Every day is a new day. You got to keep moving or else you will never reach them.
I really enjoyed reading your article. I’m currently going through the same thing by trying to motivate myself and I will implement some of these tactics.
I also think it’s important to mention that motivation always needs to come from within and not forced upon, otherwise you won’t be your best self.
I’m currently using the pomodoro strategy, have you heard of it?
That’s true, and the best way we are going to be motivated from within is when we have a why for what it is that we’re doing. And no, I’ve never seen the promodoro strategy, but i’ll look into it for for. Thanks for the recommendation!
This is a great post, very inspiring. Totally true that all too often we wait for the perfect moment to arise to take action but that moment will never happen. We need to take control of our lives and create the lives that we want by creating perfect moments. And the only way to do that is through taking action. One of my strategies that helps me take action on a consistent basis is to get into a routine. In college, I studied at the same time each day and since it was such a habit, I didn’t even have to muster up strength to start… I just started out of habit. And since I was so prepared to take action since I took action at this time every day, I was super productive. Thank you for sharing this post, I love reading about this kind of stuff
That’s awesome, I’ve gotta try that! As a university student myself, I find it difficult to get in that solid routine and usually find myself starting a big paper the night before it’s due.Thanks for the comment
Hello Jonn,
Great article. There’s too many things that distract us from reaching our goals and sometimes we just need that extra push.
I love the part where you said take action because that’s what I live by. If you really want something, you will work super hard to achieve it.
Thanks again,
Eric