Take Action: 3 Mind Hacks to Convince Yourself to Do Anything (And Accomplish Your Goals)
Running low on motivation? Keep reading for 3 Mindset Hacks that are sure to set the wheels of change in motion on your motor scooter.
Identify the first small step and take it. By paring down, let’s say, a long-term goal, complex idea or huge project/assignment. Psych yourself out by saying ‘Well, today all I have to do is this ___ (insert small step). It’s far better than just sitting on your hands pining about the perceived enormity of the task and wasting a bunch of time not doing anything at all. Even if you just tackle a single task everyday, in just one week, you’ll be seven steps ahead of where you were in the beginning.
Give yourself a pep talk. By now we’ve allll heard that affirmations are the rave. And while I have nothing against them, that’s not what we’re talking about here. Affirmations using the words ‘I’ and ‘me’ are great when you need to cheer yourself up, because they speak directly to the ‘self’.
But when it comes to taking action, seeing and referring to yourself in 3rd person is where it’s at. Why? Because it creates a sense of distance between you (self) and Your Name (that cool chick who has her sh*t together). This distance enables you to get some perspective without being too rough on yourself, so that you can come up with solutions and take more action. A quick question I like to ask myself when in need of motivation to get something done is, ‘What would Talia do?’ You know, the future me who is large and in charge, in the position that I want to be in. Yeah, her. And then I follow in her stilettos and I execute. Works every time.
Finally, prioritize your options. Sometimes we let our indecision hold us back from setting our plans in motion. When you have multiple good options, prioritize them. Think about your ideal outcomes and what would you like to see happen. Set your first order of business to-do preference and then settle on your lateral back-up move. Chances are there are multiple decisions you can make, and other choices that will lead you to the same outcome that will be just as satisfying. I call this motivation method the ‘If not this, then that’ plan of action. The point is to get yourself to just do something. Make a move. Just start!
Think of it like this, when you have multiple ways to get to the same goal or outcome, your mind can rest easy that you’ve plotted out a course that’s going to get you what you want, no matter what. And that's just like the universe... it's always working to get you what you want, even as you resist. The possibilities are literally as endless as the galaxy.
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