TODAY’S IDEA:

EntreGurus-Book-The Magic of Thinking Big David J SchwartzWhen you’re dreading doing something and simply can’t find the determination, mechanical action can propel you forward.
— From The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. (Read an excerpt here.)

We’ve all been there: we’re stuck. We have to do something and we simply can’t muster the will to do it. Whether it’s waking up early, working out, writing a report, calling someone, going somewhere… something is making us dread it and we want to put it off but we can’t, so we wait to make a decision, but we can’t make a decision… and time passes by… and, at best, we feel bad with ourselves but, at worst, there may be repercussions if we don’t take action. Ugh.

So what can you do to snap out of the funk immediately? Rather than wait for inspiration to strike or willpower to show up, simply take mechanical action. Put the alarm clock far away from your bed so that you have to get up (mechanical action) to turn it off (yes, I implemented this one, and apparently I’m not the only one that thinks this is a good idea, check out this alarm clock that runs away from you!). Pick up the phone and and start dialing; start putting on your socks followed by your running shoes; turn the computer on; start writing an outline of your document or presentation in a piece of paper; get in the car and put the keys in the ignition… That movement (mechanical action), no matter how small, is the push we sometimes need to get going.

ACTION:

Today is Sunday, and the leisure of the day can help look at the circumstances where we get stuck a bit more objectively and detached than when we are right in the midst of them. So this makes it a great day to think about those things that we dread on Mondays, or that we are dreading this particular week, or dreading for a project, or ______ (fill in your particulars here). Where are you stuck or where do you normally get stuck? What’s ahead of you? What do you need to get done? What kind of mechanical action will you take? Try it and let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear how you get unstuck!