Perpetually In First Gear

[MaxinVegas]

As with many, I spend a lot of time contemplating, writing notes on ideas and not too much on action. What is it about taking action that is the hardest thing to overcome and if anyone has good advice? I have read plenty of books and push myself to the point of taking action and then always find a distraction to take me away from the action. The internal monologue is by far my biggest enemy.

What works for anyone in the forum...not a course but a quick tactic to settle the monologue and focus on the goal?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Abrodos]

As with many, I spend a lot of time contemplating, writing notes on ideas and not too much on action. What is it about taking action that is the hardest thing to overcome and if anyone has good advice? I have read plenty of books and push myself to the point of taking action and then always find a distraction to take me away from the action. The internal monologue is by far my biggest enemy.

What works for anyone in the forum...not a course by a quick tactic to settle the monologue and focus on the goal?

I have similar problems.

Here are a few things that work for me:

- Keep track of exactly how many hours are you putting into work/your business project. That helps you get a wider view of things. It's not the same "i''m not taking action" but you're working 40hrs at a day job and taking care of family issues, and you end up exhausted, than "i'm not taking action" and you work barely 10 hours a week and spend most of the time playing videogames or on social media. Also it helps in recognizing progress and makes you feel better (this week I've worked on my business for a couple hours more than last week!)

- Of course shutting down all distractions. Blocking webpages, shutting off electronic devices, etc.
There are some good threads about "dopamine detox" here in the forum.

- If you can't find the strength to do something, try to divide it in small steps. You can feel too tired to go to the workshop, but probably you can put on your work clothes. Or maybe that's too big of an obstacle: but surely you can go fetch your clothes from the wardrobe. This idea of making just one thing at a time as little as it needs to be.

- When finding it too difficult to start, just calmly shut down all the other stuff (distractions, etc) and give yourself some minutes to confront this sensations and get the correct mindset to start working. Take a deep breath, analyze what thoughts are blocking or overwhelming you, accept them, etc. If you feel bad for not being able to start it's ok, at least you're confronting it.

- Something I've found out it works is also asking yourself "which of my tasks i'm avoiding the most/ i feel less like doing?" because usually is the most necessary one and the one you should prioritize.

- Focus on one thing at a time. Forget about "what other business ideas could work out" until the first thing is finished.

- Dump perfectionism, something poorly delivered is much better than a project that hasn't started.

Hope they're helpful for you as well!

 

[Spino]

As with many, I spend a lot of time contemplating, writing notes on ideas and not too much on action. What is it about taking action that is the hardest thing to overcome and if anyone has good advice? I have read plenty of books and push myself to the point of taking action and then always find a distraction to take me away from the action. The internal monologue is by far my biggest enemy.

What works for anyone in the forum...not a course but a quick tactic to settle the monologue and focus on the goal?

I find that the most common cause is always "Fear of failure", perhaps it's not your case but perhaps it can be.

We tend to find all the excuses possible, call them distractions if you want, or stories we tell ourselves, many times we try to rationalize as much as possible, but in so many cases the core issue is "Fear of failure"

Probably one of the most entrepreneural traits is to be comfortable with failure
Have an honest think and assess if this could be the problem, if you think it is then you need to come to terms that you need to act and find out, however, the easiest way I find to deal with failure is to tell myself "It's not a failure if I learned something from it"

 

[maverick]

Your life is too comfy and you don't want this bad enough.

Try living in first gear when you're not able to provide for your family. Or you get fired from your job.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.