Success Depends on Action
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People think success depends on big ideas and ambition, but success actually depends on ACTION. Execution is the issue. Once this is clear, blame often shifts to the ecosystem in which we find ourselves: "The company is too big, too small, too political, etc…."
A better way to go? Stop blaming your situation and circumstance . No place is perfect and the truth is, our habits — that is, our day-in and day-out personal practices ultimately determine what we achieve. People don't decide their future.They decide their habits and their habits decide their future. So develop a few simple disciplines and domino-effect HABITS that make positive decisions and actions that serve you more automatic. Even a small degree of deliberateness and automaticity built into your week makes a remarkable difference.
Why do people fail to act? Why do people fail to execute? The reasons are many — they load their day with busy work rather than substantive work. They plan and organize to the point where little gets done. They don’t say no enough, and they fail to automate, delegate and eliminate when they have the chance. Procrastination and putting off what matters are serious issue that rob us of health, peace, opportunity, and most important TIME — the one asset we can’t replace. We put things off and prioritize present mood over leading ourselves. That’s a costly mistake. We also put things off because of FEAR, because we want conditions to be JUST RIGHT, because we engage in ALL-OR-NOTHING THINKING, and because often times we simply don’t do what we don’t feel like doing what is to be done. Procrastination hits us on multiple levels, but it can be managed, curbed, and turned around. Techniques that curb procrastination include:
Make puttering a routine part of your pre-work time. Unstructured time on un-demanding, soft-focus tasks is good for our well-being. Puttering provides relaxation, mental space, and thought-incubation. We are rejuvenated by the mind-wandering that occurs when we engage in undemanding tasks. Invest in quality thinking time by puttering.
Once it’s time to work, do big unattractive tasks first. Eat the frog. In other words, do weighty, high-value tasks early on when your energy and resolve are high.
Begin. For most people the hardest part is getting started. Commit to doing the thing you’d rather not do for five minutes when it’s time to do it. We can do anything for five minutes.
Become a Pragmatist. Philosophy teaches that Pragmatism is an effective counter to procrastination. All-or-nothing thinking promotes an I’m good at this or I’m bad at this attitude that leads us to think that if what we do isn’t execptional or doesn’t move things forward a great deal, there’s no point in proceeding. Such is not the case with Pragmatism. Pragmatists aim for progress in any amount, no matter how much or how little.
Image by Natalia Blauth from Unsplash
You want to do outstanding work, make a contribution, reach your goals, and help others along the way - we all do. Action is the key to contribution, reaching our goals, and serving others. Executing on what’s important when it’s time to ACT is the answer.
Don’t wait until you feel like it, until you have your bearings, until you have every last piece of information, or until conditions are just right. Invest five minutes of committed attention in the thing you are to do when it’s time with the goal of moving the needle at least the slightest bit forward. Address what is to be done when it’s time to do it with an eye on progress in any degree, and you’ve moved from procrastinator to pragmatist, from bystander to doer, from one who needs to think about it to one who acts.