This post is inspired by this Art Of Manliness podcast episode. They say it much better than I do, but this is my version of it.
It’s about action, and how action is the answer to everything.
Yes, everything. Even being still is a calculated action.
It’s a habit of ‘reaction’ that causes us to plateau.
Unfortunately, reaction is more common than action. What does reaction look like?
Checking your phone first thing when you wake up and you’re still in bed. Checking your email every time you get an email. Taking phone calls when it’s inconvenient for you.
You’re letting those things decide what you are doing at that exact moment. You’re reacting to the system that is literally designed to keep your attention.
Think about the value of your time before letting Facebook control it for you.
Action is taking control over your life and the situations you encounter.
You don’t feel like working out until you get started. You don’t feel like going to that party until you get there. You don’t feel like finishing that project until you sit down to start.
Action breeds action. The best way to get motivated to do something is to start doing it, or at least taking necessary steps to get you in a position to not be able to turn back.
Going to the gym to work out might be a hard habit for you to get into. To make it easier, just simply put on your gym clothes every day you want to go to the gym.
Then, once you have a habit of doing that, take a drive to the gym every day you want to go to the gym. Once you’re at the gym, you might feel pretty lame about turning around and going back, so you might as well go in!
Simple, small, calculated actions are the difference between success and failure.
Setting up systems in your life to make these actions automatic is the best thing you can do. When you are forced into certain constraints, you have no option to not take action.
An example of this is to put a social media blocker on your phone to increase your productivity, or automating your savings every week.
You can have a better life, and you can kick those bad habits. Replace them with small actions that defy who you used to be.