How to Take Action: 12 Habits that Transform Wishes into Reality

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.”

John Wolfgang von Goethe

“Don't wait. The moment will never be quite right.”

Napoleon Hill

What transforms fantasies become reality?

I feel that probably the most crucial – and an often disregarded – thing is just taking action.

I used to be pretty horrible at it when I was younger.

Back then I typically got trapped.

I was locked in my fantasies of what I wanted to accomplish.

I became engaged in analysis paralysis owing to my propensity of overthinking things. I became caught in procrastination and in pessimism.

Things have changed a lot since then however. I have incorporated numerous new habits that assist me to take far more action than I used to.

I hope this week's piece will assist you to do the same.

1. Start your day off to a terrific start by doing the most crucial thing.

I initially learnt about this approximately 20 years ago when I used to sell computers.

The supervisor informed us that if we took care of the most essential work of the day – generally one of the most difficult ones too – straight away in the morning the rest of the day would be a lot simpler and lighter.

He was correct about it.

After that first and most critical work is done you don’t have to worry about it. That won’t weigh down on your day. You feel good about yourself.

And you’ll have less inner reluctance to taking action for the remainder of the day.

2. Simply accept responsibility for your acts and the process.

I adore this statement from the ancient Sanskrit Hindu text Bhagavad Gita:

“To activity alone hast thou a right and never at all to its rewards; let not the fruits of action be thy purpose; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction.”

Why?

Because every time I look at it or remind myself of it I feel a kind of liberation and relief.

This quote encourages me to remember that I cannot control the repercussions of my behavior. I can’t control how someone responds to what I say or what I do.

That reminds me that it typically works easier for me to be motivated to keep doing what I do if I do something I truly appreciate doing.

Fundamentally, I do what I believe is correct and that is my obligation. And then the rest (the probable outcomes), well, that is not up to me to decide upon or attempt to manage.

I let it go.

Taking action becomes an a much lighter activity when you simply have to take responsibility for doing what you believe is correct.

3. Don’t feel like doing it? Start small.

Getting the most essential item done first thing in your day and setting yourself up for an action-packed day sounds fantastic in principle.

Yet in fact you will have uninspired days.

Days when you feel emotionally depressed or when you are presented with having to accomplish something you don’t want to do.

That’s life. Yet no need to let it sink your day into idleness and feeling sorry for yourself.

I have discovered that the best approach for these circumstances is to start very little. To just…

Write for 1-2 minutes.

Raise free weights for only a few repetitions.

Spend 1 minute with getting started on something that worries me.

After that I have the option to go do something else.

But I hardly do.

I only need a simple approach to get started and then, after I am in motion, I generally continue taking action for a little longer.

4. Don’t injure yourself.

This is a great drive for me to improve and to become a better person.

If I don’t do what I deep down believe is the correct thing to do then I injure myself and my self-esteem. Everything I do – or do not do – throughout my day sends tremendous messages back to me about what type of person I am.

There is no escape oneself. And there is always a price to pay when you don't do what you believe is the correct thing.

5. A reminder for attention.

If you don’t remind yourself regularly about what you need to concentrate on and why you are doing it then it is easy to let days slip away or to spend too much time on less essential things.

So design an a simple reminder on a sheet of paper. On it you may for example write down:

Your top 3 priorities in life right now.

Your most essential aim or new habit for the next 30 days.

A slogan or statement you wish to keep focused on and live by at this period in your life.

6. Be accountable to the people in your life.

An accountability buddy may enable you to remain on track and to keep taking action towards your goal or desire even after the initial excitement has subsided.

For example, many of you as readers enable me to keep accountable to deliver beneficial information. I receive input all the time on whether I do things in a helpful or less helpful manner. I receive a ton of encouragement.

Individuals closest to me in my life enable me to be accountable to for instance not eating too much unhealthy food, to working exercise and to not working too much.

Meet someone in real life or online who wants to be in better condition too. Or create a company online. Encourage each other.

Hold each other accountable so you take action and take strides forward each week.

7. Cycle highly concentrated work and thoroughly restful repose.

Grab your kitchen timer or utilize the stop-watch feature on your mobile.

Set the timer for 45 minutes. During those minutes simply focus on your most critical task/small step ahead. Nothing else. No distractions.

Once that 45 minutes are over, take a nice rest.

Distract yourself on Facebook if you want. Perhaps go away from your work place and take a brief stroll, stretch or go for an apple for the next 15 minutes.

By working these totally concentrated periods of time you’ll:

Get more done and accomplish work of greater quality.

Be able to focus for a longer period throughout your day and week and become less exhausted.

Teach yourself to concentrate on one activity at time, instead of becoming trapped in your head between work and leisure and building up friction and tension inside.

Be able to enjoy your relaxation hours without a guilty conscience.

45 minutes of work too much?

Try 25 minutes instead.

Procrastinating half-way through your 25 minute period?

Start the timer for 10 or 5 minutes and build up the time that you can completely concentrate on the task over the following several weeks and months.

8. Concentrate more on the how to and less on the what-ifs.

If your brain begins whirling while you are thinking about taking action then in your head shout: STOP!

Don’t allow yourself to become locked in the negative cycle of analytical paralysis.

Clearly, it is wise to consider before you act in many circumstances but overthinking things tends to become a technique to attempt to manage things you cannot control or to just stay away from action because you are terrified in some manner.

When you have put stop to that line of thinking , up your thoughts to what you CAN DO instead of all the things that may go wrong in the worst case scenario.

Ask yourself questions like:

What is one tiny action I can take today to go ahead towards my goal or out of this situation?

What is one thing I can learn from this situation?

Write down the solutions you come up with and take action on them.

9. People don’t care that much about what you do so don’t let that hold you back.

When I was younger I nearly always allowed what others may have thought or said if I did anything hold me back and I was caught in inactivity.

That was more of a self-centered than accurate belief.

In fact folks have their own stuff going on in busy lives.

They think about the work, kids, a spouse, the cat, a vacation, what to eat for supper and they worry about what you and other people may think about them.

You are probably not the major character in other people’s life. Even if you are that in your own life.

A conclusion that might be a little disheartening but one that can also help set you free from self-imposed shackles.

10. Tap into excitement.

As you dream and when you get started with anything new in life then the excitement runs like a spring.

A few weeks later it may have diminished quite a bit. Don’t allow it lead you to leaving if you believe this is something you want to continue doing.

Tap into excitement in your surroundings instead.

Let the passion of your accountability buddy flow of over to you and generate a flow back to him or her by being excited about his or her objectives and aspirations.

Listen to podcasts or audiobooks by inspirational individuals.

Visit blogs, websites and attend classes that assist you to acquire a dose of passion every week.

Let the energy from friends, children or pets spill over to you.

Listen to music and watch movies or Youtube-videos that improve your enthusiasm for life.

Bring the excitement of the rest of the world into your life.

11. Add the fun.

Some chores just are dull or not much fun at all.

Then try this as you are performing them to add a little of fun:

Add some music that gives you energy and motivates you.

Turn it into a game where you compete with buddy about who can complete something first or accomplish the biggest quantity of things in 10 or 30 minutes.

Alter your viewpoint on what you are doing, lighten things up a little and it tends to become quite a deal easier to take a lot of action on what you may have procrastinated on for some time.

12. Celebrate what you did today.

Spend 2 minutes at the end of your day to reflect about, appreciate and celebrate what you have taken action on today. No matter how little the deed may have been.

It will:

Inspire you to get going tomorrow too.

Improve your self-esteem over time.

Make you feel good about yourself and that feeling will extend to the others in your life too.