Action Precedes Motivation

A lot of leaders will see motivation as the catalyst to taking action, and I always believed this too. But let me explain why this is not accurate or sustainable, and what really helps you get motivated.

When we are feeling overwhelmed with a large task or we’re looking to achieve a new goal, we’re constantly seeing things as though we need to feel motivated to get them completed. We procrastinate. But this feeling of, ‘I’ll do that when I feel motivated’ is really not sustainable. You may feel motivated to go to the gym on the 1st of January with your new trainers or you might feel motivated to do that task when you have pressure from your boss. But motivation is just a mindset. Often people look for external influences or material items to help them get or feel motivated, want the secret?

Take Action.

Action creates Motivation.

NOT Motivation creates Action.

Whatever task or project is in front of you and you are feeling demoted about it, it’s because you are not taking action on it. No action leads to stress and that feeling of being overwhelmed which leaves you feeling demotivated.

The motivation will come from the momentum that all comes from taking Action.

How do I avoid using Motivation as an excuse to not start?

1) Just Start - by starting you will find motivation, the motivation is actually driven by the action and the steps you take towards your goal. You often think I need all these things to be perfect and then I’ll be ready to start, the reality is you don’t. You can get started right now.

2) Feedback - by taking action you will get immediate feedback on what is working and what isn’t. For example, you might think I need to spend a ton of time researching into this or investing in that software, truth is you might not need to, you won’t know for sure until you start. Real-time and real-world feedback is real, it’s based on experience and not assumptions. You won’t get this valuable feedback unless you move forward.

3) Momentum - once you get the ball rolling and you start to take huge amounts of action you gain momentum. Picture the small snowball at the top of the hill, every repeated roll gathers more and more momentum. When you start to take repeated action every day, doors start to open, ideas start to appear and things begin to surface that you wouldn’t have thought about before you had started. You are now in a state of feeling motivated to take more action and get more things done.

Thanks for reading, hopefully, you will realise by taking action creates the motivation to continue on. Remind yourself when you feel deflated or lack the appetite to achieve your goals, just take the first step, quickly followed by the second one.

All the best

David

Resources Of The Week

• Book - Eat That Frog by Brian Tracey - is a great book with 21 ideas on how to overcome procrastination and get more things done.

• YouTube Video - Simon Sinek explains why Leadership is like Parenting. What it takes to be a leader and why you should consider if it’s for you. You also need to be obsessed with it and have a constant willingness to learn and grow.

• Blog Article - Will vs Skill - are you working with an employee who is not where they need to be? Adjust your approach so you are focusing on the right areas.

Quote of the Week

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