The Power in Taking Action

For decades the writers of self development books have been telling us how to become successful. They have laid out for us, in great detail, the important steps to take, and these include …

• Deciding exactly what it is you want to achieve
• Fixing your mind firmly on your goal
• Writing your goals down
• Creating and using affirmations
• Creating a dream board
• Meditating (if that appeals to you)

Each of these is an important step, and the more seriously you apply yourself to taking these steps, the more likely you are to succeed.

But there is one more step that is sometimes glossed over, if it’s even mentioned. Which is kinda weird because it’s one step that’s arguably more powerful than any other. And that step is taking action!

Taking action

You can’t achieve anything unless and until you actually take action. You can have all the finest and purest intentions and you can have backed them up with dream boards and affirmations and whatever else you like … but if you don’t take action it’s all just a waste of time.

Taking action is often seen as the most scary step to take. And it needn’t be. You don’t have to take a huge leap in the dark and hope against hope that everything will work out. No, you can take little baby steps. In fact, you can break your action steps down into tiny little micro steps if you want. You can do anything you like to make it easier, just as long as you don’t fall victim to paralysis by analysis … that horrible situation of being permanently in a state of preparation but never actually taking action.

Make a start

The key thing is to make a start. To do something! No matter how small it might be. Taking that first step is monumentally important. It’s the first step in what might be a long and fabulous journey, and it need not be frightening. You don’t have to focus on the whole journey. In fact you shouldn’t. Just keep your gaze fixed firmly on that single step, and then the next. And so it goes on … just rinse and repeat!

If you’re aiming to drive to another city a couple of hundred miles away you wouldn’t try to keep the entire trip in mind, mile by mile. You’d just head off on the first main road, with the next one in mind. Little by little you’d make progress. And that’s all you need to do. And little by little you get closer to your destination, till suddenly it’s right there in front of you.

It can be like this with any goal. Just start with baby steps and keep going, without any thought about how long and difficult the trip might be. Worrying is pointless! It’s almost like praying for something bad to happen. Don’t even go there! The important thing is to start and to be taking action. And the magic of it is that by just doing that you’ll feel the whole thing starting to move along nice and smoothly. The only time you’ll encounter any real difficulty is when you try to do the entire trip in one big push.

Don’t be scared!

So don’t let yourself be scared off by the thought of taking action. Yes, it might involve you venturing outside your comfort zone. It might mean you having to do things that you’ve always hated doing, and feel you have a real aversion to. But it’s the magic step that will get you from where you are to where you want to be. And once you’ve made a start it won’t seem half as scary. In fact, you’ll probably be wondering what all the fuss was about! And remember, you don’t have to take any huge, scary steps, just tiny little easy ones. Little by little, step by step you’ll creep up on your goal, getting closer each and every day, just as long as you keep moving forward.

All you have to keep in mind is the vital importance of that key element in achieving your goal … the importance of taking a deep breath, gritting your teeth, and taking action.