Why We Aren’t Taking Action
Ever wonder why it’s difficult to do the things we always said we would do? The things that are good for us, or will help us move ahead? Even if they aren’t easy, in our minds we know certain actions will lead us to success, or our next step in our work, health or relationships.
Yet, we’re stuck.
The truth is that we’re stuck in our minds. Often times we spend more time, thought and energy worrying about taking action than the actual action would require itself. Our imagination and feelings can really misrepresent the reality we’re facing. We delay the work, the time, and the investment needed, sometimes thinking it’s too much, but it never is.
We’re stuck in a thought.
How you’re feeling started with a thought. That feeling either drives action or drives inaction. It’s moving you forward, or holding you back. If you’re not currently taking action, it’s because of your current thoughts and feelings. When you find what that thought is, you’ll discover the root of your feeling.
Fear. Doubt. Uncertainty.
If you choose to think about these things, they will generate feelings that support those thoughts. And you’ll remain stuck. There are a few ways to get unstuck, which means changing your thoughts.
First: Practice self awareness. Notice the thought and find the feeling associated. Step back and become aware of the self talk and chatter in your head. Once you identify the voice, pay attention to it.
Second: Change the thought. Once you’ve captured the thought, you have the power to change it. This may require re-framing, or reading something positive, reciting something you wrote on an index card or talking it out. Whatever it takes, understand you have the power to change and create new thoughts, which will lead to new possibilities.
Third: Recognize how your current thought makes you feel, and then recognize how a new, changed thought would make you feel. Or think backwards; when I don’t take action, how do I feel? But, what will it feel like to act, to take that step, to make that decision and move forward? I bet this will be a much more positive feeling. Now, think about that feeling, over and over again.
Your new thoughts will create new feelings, which lead to action and amazing possibilities.
The reason we don’t take action is in our minds.
Can it really be that simple? Yes.
The reason that we do something or not do something is based on a feeling that we want to feel.
We think it’s because of the work we have to do or the time it takes. It never is. It is actually because of a thought that we’re having in the moment.
That thought creates a feeling that either drives action or drives inaction. It is moving you or stalling you.
If you aren’t currently taking action, it’s because of your current thought.
Find that thought now. Find the feeling that it’s causing.
How we feel is ultimately determined by us. It is determined by a thought. Which is a choice.
So how do you take action, you ask? You change your thoughts. It is what Brooke Castillo calls “The Self Coaching Model.”
How does this happen? Well, not too quickly.
You first have to notice the thoughts. Pay attention to them.
Once you’ve captured what they are, you can ask yourself how you want to feel once you’ve taken the action. How do you think you’ll feel once you accomplish your goal? That feeling, right there…
It’s available to you right now. It’s the one you need to drive action.
Decide what the feeling is that you need to drive the action you want to take. Find the thought to think that creates this feeling.
I guarantee, the action will follow.
Let me know what you’re stuck in the comments below and I will get back to you will a possible solution!
