I saw a quote over the weekend which was “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” and it was such a kick in the arse for me! I’ve been laying low recently and not getting out there and doing things and it has really increased the doubt and fear.
When I saw this quote, it immediately got me motivated to start doing something - anything really - because it rings so true. I know from experience (and let’s face it, we all do too) that when I’m busy achieving my goals, even the little tiny ones, I feel so much better in myself. I feel more confident. I feel happier. I feel more like the me I want to be.
I also know that it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. It’s easy to tell yourself that you’ll do it later, or you’re too tired, or it’s too complicated, too expensive, too time-consuming. There’s always a reason not to do something that means you have to make some kind of an effort. But where does that end? If you stick to this ethos all the time, we’d just be stuck on the sofa all day watching chat shows or whatever other mind-numbing drivel we can find.
And don’t get me wrong, I’m more than capable of finding some drivel to dive into and keep me occupied for hours on end. It draws me in like an anaesthetic to the more challenging aspects of what I need to do to get what I want in life. But what I’ve found out is that the more I do that, the longer I spend on it. It becomes a habit and it diverts my attention from worrying about how I’m going to achieve something difficult, to putting off the problem until later.
We all know that this isn’t the answer. We all know that it needs to be dealt with eventually. Or if we don’t deal with it, this quagmire of inaction becomes the new normal. Inaction is no good to anyone hoping for better in their lives. Inaction is like poison to your motivation and make the inevitable more painful.
So my advice, as ever, is to just do it. Whatever it is that you’re putting off or finding difficult to start. Find an easy first step and think only about that. That’s all you have to do for today and so that’s all you have to concentrate on. Don’t think about what comes afterwards, just concentrate on achieving your first little step.
Just don’t let inaction become your new normal because your dreams will still raise their heads, as will the jobs you have to do or the plans you’ve already made. They will take up room in your head, nagging you to remember to do them. Once you’ve done them, you instantly make room for something new – and maybe more lovely – to float around in your head.
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