Mastering The ‘Action’
Habit
The goal of
this article is to close the gap between learning and applying
what has been learned. Many people learn a lot of things. The
challenge is then applying everything useful learned. To do this,
it requires what I call the ‘action’ habit.
Some people
are prone to just think about something endlessly without a whole
lot of action. If you want real results in your life, you must
master the action habit. Results only come from action, not by
idly thinking.
The action
habit is the habit whereby you employ a ‘do-it-now’
philosophy. The action habit is where you think about what you
want to do, make a written plan, and then execute it immediately.
The people with the ‘action’ habit avoid unnecessary
delay. They take calculated risks and they move forward in their
lives.
You see, I
used to be a computer scientist. Yep, that’s right. While
I was doing my master’s degree in computer science, I thought
and thought some more. I thought a lot. I wrote papers. I did
experiments after much painstaking, (over)analysis of the problems.
Hey, that’s what computer scientists do. That’s the
nature of the profession.
The challenge
was that I took this “Think without much action” approach
home with me. I studied numerous self-help programs. The problem?
I did not apply them. In my mind, I imagined wonderful results
if only I could get myself to take action. I fast became a learned
self-help ‘academic’. This meant I knew all the techniques
and concepts but did not apply anything. I wasn’t getting
any true results in my life by just studying.
The way to
get real results is by action and I’m here to show you a
specific method to take charge of your life and get the action
orientation down. Language gives us insight into our mindsets.
Changing our mindset creates corresponding changes in how we speak.
How we speak is a direct result of how we think. The opposite
is also true. Changing our language and how we speak changes our
thoughts and thus our mindset.
So to master
the action habit, let’s change our language. First of all,
let’s eliminate the phrases such as “I think”
or “I believe” from our language. They lock us into
the inactive mode. What is more powerful to you? “I think
I’m going to go to a movie tonight,” or “I’m
going to a movie tonight.” Try it out by saying it in your
own mind. Notice the difference. I’m not at all suggesting
that we abandon thinking. It is necessary and useful. Let’s
just think and then go for it!
How else can
you create the action habit with your language? Well, you can
begin to use active words. Here are a few examples below:
“Let’s
jump on this proposal and run with it.”
“Crank
it up a notch to get more done.”
“I’ve
got to roll now and I’ll talk to you later.”
“Let’s
grab some lunch now.”
What do all
these active words have in common? They are physically oriented
actions. Integrate these physically active words into your language.
How you speak to yourself and others influences your unconscious
mind.
Compare those
examples with these drab, boring sentences:
“Let’s
advance this proposal and go to the next stage.”
“Increase
your performance and you will accomplish more.
“I must
get going now and I’ll talk to you later.”
“Let’s
get some lunch now.”
For all of
the above sentences, none of them have verbs that communicate
any real, physical action. That’s the challenge I have with
them. Use active words and you’ll naturally notice the difference.
To recap,
1. Eliminate
the “I think” or “I believe” to stop pontificating
and start
acting.
2. Employ the ‘do-it-now’ philosophy with a sense
of urgency
3. Integrate active words into your vocabulary to close the learning-applying
gap
Kent Sayre
is a worldwide persuasion expert and author of “The Ultimate
Persuasion Formula” available at: www.TheUltimatePersuasionFormula.com
Furthermore, he is the author of the bestselling book “Unstoppable
Confidence” endorsed by such celebrity authors as Brian
Tracy, Robert Allen, and Jim Rohn.
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