The only thing that ever makes a difference in your world is the actions you take. Not the planning you do or the thoughts you have beforehand.
What I see that slows most people down is they’re preparing to play their game rather than playing their game.
Which comes in the guise of:
- I have to have it all figured out before I can begin…
- I have to know “how” to do X before I can start …
- I have to get all my ducks in a row …
- I need to create my 27 point plan …
- I need to know it’s going to work before I’ll commit…
We think we need all of the above before we can act. But it’s not true.
In my experience, planning leads to more planning. And action leads to more action.
You can move and figure it out as you go.
All you really need is a clear target of where you want to go, and by when. From there you can ask “what’s the next action I need to take?” No need to bog yourself down trying to predict the next 27 moves on the chessboard.
If you want to move your goals and projects with more velocity and power, look to see where you can take more spontaneous action.
Unless you take a new action the view remains the same.
But when you do something new, you’ll see something new.
You’ll now have possibilities that weren’t available until you took that first action.
You’ll be awake and responsive to the moment at hand. To the current reality. Not to some dusty plan you put together weeks or months ago.
Here’s a simple sequence I use with clients. See if you can apply this to an outcome that’s important to you.
Pretend you’re a professional golfer. You can’t plan your way around the golf course. You have to hit one shot at a time. Take what you get, and then move on.
Set a target – “I’m going to hit a 5 iron to the flag on the left edge of the green.”
Take an action – Hit the shot.
Take what you get – Meaning it landed where it landed – which is not always where you wanted. From there, choose your next shot.
Go again.
From this, you can build a business or a life.
This coming week … choose a commitment you’ve allowed to lie fallow and re-engage with it.
Get clear about what you want. Then DO the one thing you can see to do that would make a difference.
From there you’ll be able to keep moving forward with velocity and power.