Taking action
- Vishrutha Thulasiram
- Jul 31, 2020
- 3 min read
Taking action. Two very simple words whose internet definition is: to do something or to act in order to get a particular result. This taking action and initiative is something we do every single day. When you are hungry you take action to cook a meal or when you are bored you take action to pursue your hobby, read or watch television. It sounds pretty simple and mundane, doesn’t it? Then why is it so hard to do the same when it comes to bigger life changing things like our dreams or careers? Why is it so hard for us to simply take action?
Well, there are dozens of reasons for this. Go ahead Google “Taking action”. You will get hundreds of videos and blog posts that give you multiple ways to take action. But before you take action it is important to do some ground work. Suppose you are hunting for apartments. You don’t directly walk in to whatever apartment you see. You will first figure out what you want in your apartment, the location, budget, etc. Then you search for apartments that fit into your criteria before you finalize the deal. That’s the thing nobody talks about when it comes to taking action. Everyone just hands you the deal even before you know what deal you are looking for. And that is probably why that project you so badly want create is still on your to-do list.
So how do you do this groundwork? It is quite straightforward. Here is how it works. First you ask yourself a set of questions to help you clearly understand what is this you want create or work towards. Second you indentify what is holding you back and work towards eliminating these.
Now we are going to do this together. Go grab a piece of paper and a pen. Done? Okay. Now stop what you are doing just sit comfortably. I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Then gently open your eyes. Great job. We’re all set to start our ground work. Here are a couple of questions and I want you to answer them without any fear of judgment and just write down whatever comes to your mind. Lets go:
What is the one thing that keeps interrupting my daily train of thought?
Is this thing important? Why or Why not?
How do I work towards making sure it does not annoy me anymore?
How will I benefit from it?
What change do I wish to see by taking action on this thing?
Got all your answers? Now let us get to the second part that is identifying what is holding us back from this path. Go through your answers and write down a few things that you think are keeping you from taking action. From what I have seen and experienced it is very often one of these reasons: Anxiety, Procrastination or Imposter syndrome. Got your list? Good work. You now have everything you need to help you take action. Go ahead and Do it!
As a thank you for reading so far, here is an example of my groundwork:
Part 1:
What is the one thing that keeps interrupting my daily train of thought? – Side splits
Is this thing important? Why or Why not? – Yes. Physical flexibility requires balance, patience and perseverance. I want to inculcate these in my life.
How do I work towards making sure it does not annoy me anymore? – By doing yoga for flexibility everyday
How will I benefit from it? – It will boost my confidence and the process will help me love my body
What change do I wish to see by taking action on this thing? – To be able to do the split
Part 2:
Challenges/Obstacles:
Procrastinating by watching people do the split XD
Inconsistency in practice
Falling off track due to lack of results
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