“Take action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.”
– DR. STEVE MARABOLI
Taking action is the only thing that really moves us forward, and yet most people don’t take action to get closer to their meaningful goals. What is getting in our way? Perfectionism, procrastination, comparison, lack of time, feelings of not being good enough, not prepared enough, … Do some of these sound familiar? In the end, it all comes down to fear. Fear disguised in many different forms.
By taking meaningful action, we have to step out of our comfort zone. This requires courage and vulnerability, and it requires moving forward despite all our fears. Most people want to wait until they feel prepared enough, hoping that fear then doesn’t come up anymore. But unfortunately, that will not be the case.
So it’s not about being fearless. It’s about doing it anyway! Going forward despite our fears doesn’t sound very comfortable, does it? Certainly, it’s easier and more comfortable to turn on the TV or passively consume social media, or sticking to whatever we have done in the past and already dominate. However, staying in our comfort zone also means being stagnant and not moving towards our goals and dreams.
But how do we move forward and take action, despite our fears? By breaking down your goals into small steps. And then when you have come up with your small steps, even break them down further. Make the steps so tiny that they almost sound ridiculous. This works because small steps are less scary to our human brain than thinking about a huge goal. It’s good to have a bigger vision, but as soon as we notice that we are in overwhelm and inaction, we are thinking too big. So go smaller in order to support yourself to be able to take action.
Everything big is made out of smaller units. Our bodies are made of cells. Houses are built of bricks (or other prefabricated building blocks), and books are written word by word, chapter by chapter. Steve Jobs and Wozniak started selling the Apple computer out of their garage and Serena Williams started playing tennis in small training units when she was three years old. A lot of very small steps done frequently over time inevitably build up to something.
Taking action moves us forward, and helps us grow. Taking action is the only way to build a business, to write that book, to have a healthy body, and to become better at anything. So what is YOUR next small step you can take towards your meaningful goal?
