One Simple Trick to Beat Procrastination
We typically think motivation works like this:
But we're wrong.
Action isn't just the effect of motivation, but also the cause of it. By acting, you inspire yourself and create the requisite motivation to act some more.
So instead, we have:
I call this The "Do Something" Principle.
If you lack the motivation to make a change in your life, you just have to do something, anything. Then harness the reaction to that action as a way to motivate yourself to make that change.
I discovered this principle back in my years as a consultant, helping people who were immobilized by fears, rationalizations, and apathy to take action.
What I found is that once they did even the smallest of actions, it would give them the motivation to do something else.
They had sent a signal to themselves, “OK, I did that, I guess I can do more.” And slowly we could take it from there.
Over the years, I've applied The "Do Something" Principle in my own life as well.
The most obvious example is running my online business. I work for myself. I don’t have a boss telling me what to do and not to do. I also often have to take major calculated risks in which I’m personally invested, both financially and emotionally.
It’s been nerve-wracking at times, and major feelings of doubt and uncertainty arise. And when no one is around to push you, sitting around and watching TV reruns all day can quickly become the more appealing option.
Entire weeks would go by without me accomplishing much for no other reason than I was anxious and stressed about what I had to do.
But then I learned that forcing myself to do something, even the most menial of tasks, quickly made the larger tasks seem much easier.
If I had to redesign an entire website, then I’d force myself to sit down and say, “OK, I’ll just design the header right now.” But after the header was done, I’d find myself moving on to other parts of it. And before I knew it, I’d be energized and engaged in the project.
On top of work, I’ve also used The "Do Something" Principle in my personal life.
If I’m in a new country and need to give myself a little push to meet people, instead of expecting the moon, I just decide, “OK, I’ll go out and have a beer and see what’s going on.”
The more I’ve applied the principle in all areas of my life, the more I realize that success is tied less to knowledge or talent, and more to action supplemented by knowledge and talent.
Whether you call it The "Do Something" Principle, or "failing forward," or "ready, fire aim," it's an extremely useful habit.