Ideas and goals without action quickly become anxiety and overthinking if you procrastinate too long. The word “action” needs no definition. Taking action is by far the most essential part of achieving any goal. However, action without direction and focus is just motion. Take a moment to reflect on the ideas you have. What are your goals? Write them down. By assessing your thoughts, you can identify which ideas have the most potential and match your needs. This multistep process is crucial because clarity can provide the right direction to take action.
Here is how I like to break down action, with the ACTION acronym helping to solidify those steps into a practical strategy:
A: Ask Yourself Why. Why Are You Doing This?
You need an answer to this because, at some point during this goal-achievement journey, you will not be motivated to do what you must do. However, you will find a way to achieve it if you let your initial motivation develop into discipline and determination. Knowing why you want to do this in the first place is strong and will support this evolutionary process, allowing it to grow over time through habit formation and consistency.
C: Create and Commit to the Plan
Organize the tasks into logical steps and get moving. To lower anxiety, define precisely what “success” looks like for this specific task. Getting your first task done is the first step to momentum and creating the habits you will need in the future:
- Keep it small. Break the giant “issue of concern” into tiny, manageable objectives. Instead of tackling everything at once, isolate one specific step you can complete right now. This makes the task less intimidating and helps build positive momentum. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
- Set deadlines for yourself. Indecision is a massive source of stress. Once you have the first focus on your plan, lock it in and get it done.
- Decision over perfection. As Gen. Patton famously stated, “A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” Avoiding procrastination is also a result of this mindset. Permit yourself to move forward even if some details are unresolved, knowing you can adjust as you go and that you are moving in the right direction.
Read More: Ask Stew: A Step-by-Step Plan to Get Started on You New Year Fitness Goal
T: Trim Deadweight and Distractions
Organize, de-clutter, take time to relax, exercise and think with focus. This will help you avoid distractions and reduce stress and anxiety.
- Clear the deck. Turn off phone notifications, clear your workspace, and ignore the side-tasks that aren’t part of your focused plan.
I: Ignite Physical and Creative Energy
Movement helps. Move the body and settle the mind. This can be an unrelated manual task that allows you to think creatively and build a focus on the next task at hand. For instance, I spent the morning raking leaves and developing this acronym, since this article project started as just an idea for defining action.
- Shift your state of mind. If you are stuck, go for a walk, do 10 jumping jacks, or take 3 deep breaths to break the grip of anxiety and unorganized thoughts. Physical movement can help reset your nervous system, making it easier to refocus and approach the task with a fresh perspective.
- Channel the adrenaline. Recognize that the “nervous energy” of anxiety is chemically similar to excitement, and use that fuel to power your first focused move.
Read More: From Lifespan to ‘Health-span’: Use the New Year to Focus on Both Health and Fitness
O: Own It. Take Ownership
Take full responsibility for the process. This is your goal, idea or project, and if you execute well, it could change your life, depending on the goal you have set for yourself. The process of learning how to do this can set you up nicely for bigger, life-changing goals, as you can replicate it in the future.
- Acceptance of problems and obstacles. Accept that there will be problems and hurdles along the way and that you are the one who will solve them. Remember, your role as the decision-maker empowers you to take action and shifts your mindset from helplessness to capability, enabling you to see opportunities in vulnerabilities and problems.
- In control. When you take ownership, you move from being a “victim” of your circumstances to the “author” of your solution.
N: Never Give Up
Consistency wins! Stay persistent and learn from setbacks to come back more competent and experienced than you were yesterday. If you think like Thomas Edison, you will succeed even with hundreds of failures. He states, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This is as much a mindset as it is a matter of determined consistency. Never quitting is the mindset that turns any failure into a learning experience and keeps you smarter than you were before.
- Nurture consistency and follow-through. Consistency is key to turning your actions into habits and ultimately achieving your objectives. By nurturing this habit of consistent action, you will find that momentum builds, making it easier to pursue your vision.
If you have an idea and a goal but struggle to get started, remember that by following the ACTION framework, you can stop overthinking and take the steps to turn your goals into reality. Start making progress today!
There are dozens of these types of articles at the Military.com Fitness Section. Check them out for ideas on specific ways to train.
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