Seize Your Opportunities
Why is it that some people don't take action? Unlocking the answer to this question has been the lifelong pursuit of many individuals. Often, when seeking motivation to take action, people desire the ‘silver bullet’ - the mystical, easy, one-shot solution. Motivation, however, does not work like that. It is not a one-shot fixes all solution. As Zig Ziglar humorously explains, “Of course, motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis,” and “Motivation is like taking a bath; If you stop doing it, you begin to stink!”
Understanding what motivates people can help unlock their talents and skills. The two primary motivators that people have are the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. There is a strong body of evidence that suggests that all our actions can be traced back to these two motivators. In my experience, pain is by far the more powerful motivator.
Many people say that they should exercise but then use the excuse that they just cannot find the time. I then ask them, ‘If you suffered a terrible accident and were in incredible pain, and the only way to relieve the pain for that day was to do 20 minutes of exercise, could you make the time?’ Most people agree they could. People will do a lot to avoid pain, but when there is not enough discomfort, people can often get stuck in the quagmire of comfort.
Tony Robbins summed it up well by saying, 'Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.' To take action, you need a strong enough motivator and/or you need to reduce the threshold of perceived pain of the change. Rather than thinking about what is involved in the entire process of the change, it's useful to think about what you need to do to take the next step.
In reflecting on what stops me from taking action, I identified that I can often become overwhelmed by looking at my desired ideal outcome. The end goal is so huge and far away that I get stuck thinking about all the options and suffer the classic ‘paralysis by analysis’. I have found that focusing on what is the next thing I need to do, and just doing that, helps create momentum.
What stops you from taking action? What stops your team from taking action? It can be any number of things. I have found that a lack of clarity is often a gaping hole behind a lack of action. Whether it is a lack of clarity, resources, skills, or support, the result is usually reflected in substandard actions and outcomes. Different factors impact people in various ways. Understanding the way your mind works can equip you to make it work for you.
A useful approach I learned from Dan Sullivan is called the “gap and the gain." I have often seen people getting stuck because they fixate on how much they still have to do to achieve their goal, without occasionally stopping to reflect on how much they have achieved and how far they have come to get to this point. It is a valuable exercise to reflect on the gains you have made before looking at your goals and next steps. Reflecting on what you did well so you can do more of the same and what you learned from your challenges gives you wisdom to go forward.
As you explore what action you need to take to achieve your ideal outcomes, it is helpful to know that you have a choice to define your future. Your past does not determine your future. It brings you to this present moment. The action that you take in the present moment determines your future. The fact is deceptively simple. It's not easy, but it is simple.
Here’s to your success.
