Successful people throughout history have known that one of the keys to getting things done is to take action. They do what they need to do instead of quitting or being too proud to make an initial mistake. Just like other aspects of life, taking action is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice.
In this post, we’ll show you the science behind taking action and explain how you can get better at it by using some simple strategies. We’ll also provide some step-by-step instructions for integrating these strategies into your life through simple exercises.
But before we continue, let’s first briefly review what causes people to procrastinate and how taking action can help. In the book The Power of Habit , Charles Duhigg draws on research studies and behavioral experiments to show that procrastination can result from all kinds of behaviors. These include:
Being too trusting – When people are too trusting they give themselves permission to procrastinate by assuming the situation is safe. In other words they don’t take the time to do their homework, or ask somebody else to fill their coffee mug because they assume it won’t be used.
Being too confident – People who are too confident tend to be less concerned about the future and can push off things that need doing until later, or put them off forever.
Being too lazy – People who are lazy procrastinate because they don’t have the motivation or energy to do something. They will often tell themselves: “It will be one thing after another so I’ll just postpone it until the last minute and then will feel worse when I get there.”
Not being clear how much time it actually takes – It can be easy to convince yourself that you don’t need to do something as long as you get it in on time, say a particular deadline. But this is just another form of procrastination.
Now, let’s talk about what actually does work when it comes to taking action. The first key to success is learning how to make action a habit, so you can get things done without having to force yourself or feel guilty about not doing anything. The second key is to realize that most people spend more time planning than actually doing. It’s also important to understand that making mistakes and failing isn’t the same as being a failure or unproductive. But in order for all of this to happen, you need to start with your mindset and belief in yourself.
KEY # 2: MENTAL PATTERNS ARE OUR REAL ENEMY
A study out of the University of Utah and Brigham Young University found that people who believe in themselves more strongly tend to be more successful, independent, and confident. So the first step to taking action is developing a strong belief in yourself. This is why many people who are naturally good at this kind of thing are learning to become entrepreneurs and go for their dreams. They learn how to take action with less resistance and more motivation.
Another thing that helps is putting yourself into a flow state – a powerful state of being driven by your inner goals rather than outer ones like money, material possessions, and social status. In fact, it’s not really the money or the things you can buy with it that are important in life. What is more important is what you can do with your time and energy.
In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi tells us about a study he conducted that found great artists and scientists at their best described almost identical states:
Creative people are completely involved in what they are doing, so much so that it may be hard to distinguish between work and play [emphasis added]. They become deeply absorbed in what they are doing, unaware of themselves as separate from the activity [emphasis added].