Five Techniques that help you take action

Five techniques to help you take action

I love motivational posters that have a great picture and then a motivating quote underneath. The picture starts your mind racing with ideas and then the quote sometimes makes you smile. I bet you have seen this poster before, you have footsteps in sand and then the quote” A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” This is very true, but how do you take that first step? Try this list for some insight on taking action.

1. I call this first step “ Just put your head down and get it done” I have run over forty marathons and during each marathon there are joyful times and times that are painful. During these painful miles I just tell myself to put your head down and get it done. I know it will be even more painful to not finish and endure the disappointment, so I just push on. Sometimes you have to tell yourself “let’s just put our head down and get something done”.

“What makes you grind?  You have to always be chasing something.”

Ray Lewis

 

2. Remember the first law of motion. An object at rest remains at rest and a body in motion remains in motion unless acted on by an outside force. If you want something to happen in your life, you have to get moving or you will sit there forever. It is hard to sugar coat this but at some point you have to get moving. I have two friends who wanted to run a marathon. True story. One friend bought new shoes, a treadmill, and a nice watch for his training. In addition he read books on running a marathon. He was inspired to run a marathon. One problem, he never would go out and run. My other friend found a marathon plan for free on-line, looked it over and started training the next day. Who do you think meet the goal of running the marathon?

“Doing nothing gets you nothing.” ~ Sean Reichle

 

3. Break the project or task into bite sized pieces and start by eating the first bite sized piece. If a task seems overwhelming the chances are you will not start. I once had to transcribe one hundred short videos. I kept thinking to myself that it was going to be impossible. I set a small goal of completing just three a day. Most days I would complete double this and I had a goal to accomplish each day. Before I knew it I had a transcription for all 100 videos. One can always break a large task into small tasks that can be easily completed.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time

4. At night before you go to bed write down one two or three tasks that you will get done the next day no matter what happens. Just tell yourself that you will not go to bed the next day unless these tasks are done. Then stick to the plan. This simple activity trains you to take action and builds momentum. Believe it or not there are 100 mile running races. When a finisher of a 100 mile race was asked how they trained for this distance they said, “you start with 5 miles, and move to 10 miles, and before long 40 to 60 mile runs seem common.” Strange as it sounds that a 40 mile run becomes common, the body is amazing and adapts. In the same way when you start with one or two tasks that must be completed, before long completing tasks become common to you. This habit then can be applied to every area of your life.

     

“We rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt”

5. Remind yourself why you want to complete this task. The reasons can vary from “I need to complete this task in order to remain employed” to “completing this task is the first step in bringing world peace”. Regardless your brain sometimes needs to be reminded of the purpose. Some people like to visualize how good it will feel when you complete the task. Others enjoy being able to mark something off their daily list. Regardless, your odds of getting started and completing a task go up if you have a compelling reason to get started. In 2010 there were over 400 men who ran a marathon faster than two hours and twenty minutes. In the same year there were less than five in Great Britain. Is it because Great Britain runners are inferior? Paula Radcliff who is British holds the world record for the women’s marathon. In Africa runners know that if they win major races they can generate a life time riches. In Great Britain people dream of being a futbol star.

Find a compelling reason to succeed that is more than the money and you energize your mind of success.

Les Brown