Take Action! Take Action! Ready, Set…Take Action!
Everyone knows that if you really want your business (and life) to be happy, abundant and successful, that after all the mindset gurus have gotten done messing with your brainwaves, the thing that you have to do is take action. Get off your duff and get moving.
After all, there aren’t very many inspirational things that have ever happened from the sofa unless they were on the big screen in front of it.
So what a lot of folks do is they make a big list of ALL THE THINGS that need to get done to be happy, abundant and successful, they drink a tall glass of motivational juice, (they may even mainline it) and they GO.
ACTION TIME!
They look at their giant list, they start on the first one fast and furious, full speed ahead, all engines running, hit that first snag of ‘don’t know how to do this’ and oops… come crashing to a halt. All that actionable energy slams against the wall. Bam.
They tweak, hunt, get on social media, ask around, get several opinions, stall while deciding which advice to take, start to feel stressed, wonder if every single thing on that Action List is going to be like this and wonder why they ever thought they were cut out for this in the first place.
They hit overwhelm, sink in the ocean of small and fear and never good enough, look at that long, long list that has started to look like a way too big mountain to climb and they…turn on the TV. Or take a nap, or phone a friend, open the fridge or… you know the drill.
You’ve been there. If you’re an entrepreneur or a creative, or a dreamer ,or a chronic planner, you’ve been through this scenario at least once or twice. (or three or four or more, but we won’t tell.)
Is there another way?
There is. And it’s a pretty simple one. But it flies in the face of popular advice so most people ignore it. You might also. You might read this and say… oh, well that’s just silly. Everyone knows you have to map out your business and have a plan.
But just listen for a second with an open mind. Here it is:
Don’t…make…the…list.
There, I said it. Don’t make the ALL THE THINGS list in the first place. Because you know what? It’s a fake list. You won’t know what you need to put on that list until you get there. Life, family, work, business, creative endeavors, art…all of it, it’s a process, it’s a journey, it is a step by step adventure that requires taking one step, and then another, and then looking to see what has been revealed to you by the last step you took.
The list is a crutch. It’s a thing we all do to trick ourselves into feeling like we have control.
The truth is…we don’t.
Sorry, I know that nobody likes to hear that. I know that we love to keep that particular monster tucked away firmly in the closet with the door locked tight. But, we don’t have control of the next minute of our lives, let alone the next hour, day or year.
Does that mean never make long term goals?
Here is the thing. You can make a goal of living by the ocean someday. That’s great. And you may get there. Doing things a certain way, by taking small steps, every minute of every day with your small choices will greatly enhance the odds that you will get there. But here is a better plan.
Make a goal about what kind of person you want to be. Make a goal about what kind of integrity, priorities, family, friends, standards and love you want to have in your every moment of your life.
Then ask yourself this question.
Are my actions right now in line with my priorities and the way I want to live my life? If yes, proceed. If not, stop, and ask myself, what do I need to do differently right this teeny-tiny moment?
Then do that.
Right then.
Then ask the question again. And again, and again. Teeny tiny steps, over and over again. Wide-awake to living on purpose to your priorities, goals and integrity.
The you will always know you are taking the right action in the right moment.
Simple? Yes. Easy? Hell no. It takes a dedication, focus, and commitment that most of us find to be unsustainable. We mess it up all the time.
That’s okay. Don’t worry about it. When you find yourself off track, just stop. Ask the question again. Follow the answer. Sooner or later, you will be on track more than you are off track. Remember, it’s a journey. Just start asking the question, one teeny-tiny step at a time.
