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Last week I didn’t feel like writing a blog post. I had all the excuses in the book – I was on my way back from a huge conference, was traveling, needed to catch up on work and with my family… But I had committed to writing one post a week and that’s what I was going to do. So I just started writing. It may not have made much sense at first, but I just started typing and letting my thoughts flow and several paragraphs later – blog post complete. If I hadn’t buckled down and taken action, I wouldn’t have felt proud for tackling one of my goals and excited about the feedback and dialogue to come. Action = emotion.
How many times have you hit the snooze button because you didn’t feel like getting up to work out? Or didn’t feel like ordering a salad, so you went for the burger and fries. How many times have you put off making sales calls because you didn’t feel like doing it? Or you didn’t feel like working on your writing project so you watched Netflix instead.
All of these feelings aren’t doing any of us any good! Feelings are fleeting and can’t always be counted on during crunch time. We all sit around waiting to feel like doing what we have said we’re going to do [insert goal here] and while we’re waiting to get motivated or get inspired, we waste time and get further and further away from our goals. Seems pretty counter-intuitive.
Don’t wait for the mood to strike before getting busy. If you have big goals you have to have a certain amount of discipline and habits in order to achieve what you want in life. And believe me, every day is not sunshine and unicorns. Most of the time you’re not going to feel like getting up early or eating healthy or working on a particular project, but you sure as hell want the feeling that comes from the self mastery and accomplishment.
Exercise is such a great example. We all love the post-workout high, right? Well, the only way we get to feel that is if we take action and work out. But if we sit around waiting to feel that euphoria before hopping on the treadmill, it’s just not going to happen.
What if we turned that upside down? What if all we had to do was take some small action and we’d get the feeling that we had been waiting for!
“The common conception is that motivation leads to action, but the reverse is true – action precedes motivation. You have to prime the pump and get the juice flowing, which motivates you to work on your goals. Getting momentum going is the most difficult part of the job, and often taking the first step is enough to prompt you to make the best of your day.” ―Robert J. Mckain
Yes – action first. Emotion second.
I think we’ve put way too much emphasis on always feeling good about what we do. Suck it up buttercup. Living a big like is fickin’ hard. Personal growth is really uncomfortable. And you’ve got to get through the grind before you can reap the rewards.
If you want to change how you’re feeling and change the results in your life, you’ve got to get busy first.
Here’s my challenge to you: For the next 30 days, act first and worry about your feelings later. When your mind says no – GO!
Remember, action = emotion.
An entrepreneur at heart, Adam Hergenrother is the Founder & CEO of the thriving organization Adam Hergenrother Companies.
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