What makes things happen ?

Answer : ACTION

We all have the tendency to think of what we want to do, what we want to be etc. But the biggest difference with people who are successful in growing, developing and attaining their goals, is that they are constantly taking action.

However action requires energy and to get that energy we need to focus on our self – We need to create that energy.  It’s easy to say but then the question also arises – how can one derive the energy ? The energy needs to come from within our self.

We need to inspire our self.   Inspiration is a very powerful force; if we inspire our self towards action it is one of the most powerful ways to motivate yourself.  There was the old method of “carrot and stick” approach which used to be considered effective.  It worked well for typical tasks of the early 20th century —routine, challenging and highly controlled. For those tasks, the process was straightforward and lateral thinking was not required. But jobs in the 21st century have changed dramatically, become more complex, more interesting and more self-directed, and this is where the carrot-and-stick approach became unstuck.

So the impact of this change for an employee as well as for managers in organizations is significant.  An employee needs to inspire self from the inside out and todays manager needs to inspire their team to deliver results.

So how can we inspire our self to take action:

Plan your Act : Whatever  goal you have in mind should be backed up by actions to be taken in order to reach that objective. Do you want to lose weight ? Plan your diet and exercise regime. Do you want to grow in your career ? Evaluate and decide on your development needs. If you plan and act like you mean it, you will identify  better choices, build your confidence and energy level which in turn will help you spiral up and achieve your objective.

Decide : Make a decision and then go for it. Don’t be double minded and scuttle back and forth on things. That would only create a state of paralysis and you will be unable to decide on what to do. Instead, decide on what actions need to be taken – Take action and test your results. The act of making a decision and taking action will encourage you and help to build a momentum within you to go further.

Role model : We all have a hero or role model in our mind as a possible level to achieve. Study them, find out how they reached where they are use their example to lift your own spirits to greater heights ; paint a picture in your mind of how you too can achieve that level. Your chances of success go up, no matter what problem or challenge you’re up against.

Find a Mentor : Many organizations have mentoring programs and if available you should join it – if not you can also develop a rapport and build interactions with the person whom you think would be beneficial to you in this role. Obtain feedback, ask for advice and share developmental goals with your informal mentor and get feedback . this strategy would help you to gain clarity as well as encourage and inspire you to move ahead.

Visualize success : We all have our shining moments where we have been successful in things we were doing – look back at those success points and use them to inspire yourself for further successes.  Simply recall and imagine the scene in your mind, try to remember the feelings you had on successful accomplishment and use that to light a fire within you and motivate you to future success.

Look to the future : If you have been unsuccessful in the past and keep dwelling on the past it is a quick way to bring yourself down. To lift yourself up, switch to the future and envision the possibilities of achieving success.  See what’s possible and work towards achieving your goals, that’s where success will come from. By having a compelling vision, you will have something to aim for.

The above skills are some proven practices for you to inspire yourself with. Of course it all depends how you apply them and with what level of passion you pursue them. The question remains, what are you going to do with all your inspiration to achieve success ?