Take Inspired Action and Get Excited
I write a lot about moving forward and taking inspired action toward the things that matter most. These are the things that you’re passionate about, the things that fuel and inspire you and in the process inspire the rest of us.
So often we get caught up in the real life dilemmas: what to cook for dinner, who’s picking up the kid from Pre-K, what the Kardashian’s are doing (ugh) that we forget to move toward those things that we’re passionate about. Here are three easy steps that you can take each week to make sure you’re making the most of each moment and consciously taking inspired action:
1. Know what you want. Do you want to write a book or do you really just want to share your thoughts and feelings. Knowing the answer to that is the difference between years of study, marketing, practice, and writing OR journaling each evening at the end of the day. Both are valuable and important, both accomplish larger purposes, but they are different things entirely. All I’m saying here, is to get conscious and clear about what you want to do so you are headed in the right direction and not spending time on something that proves unfulfilling because it was the wrong thing from the start.
2. Be open to all outcomes. We are usually really good at setting the end goal. I want to lose 40 pounds, I want to get married, I want to make big bucks, that we forget the process is the most important and fun thing in the first place. If you are fixed on ONE outcome a couple of things happen: you lose site of the fun and knowledge you can gain along the way and you LIMIT yourself. What if the process takes you toward a bigger outcome that you ever imagined or anticipated. What if you only lose 30 pounds but you drop your cholesterol by 50 points, increase your lean muscles mass and lower your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure – that would, for most people, be a great outcome. Get on the path and be open to where it leads, it could be toward something bigger.
3. Pick a pie-in-the-sky target. Always have something out there that seems crazy or impossible, but incredibly exciting and engaging. Do something you think you can’t. At least give it a go. I always pitch an article idea to one of the biggie mags. They are usually hard to get into, but I feel good shooting high with the possibility that it might (and it has) happen. Pick one big thing in line with your greater passion or purpose and put it out there. Apply for that dream job –even if you aren’t qualified. Start that little grass-roots org to help feed the hungry in your neighborhood, one household at a time. Reach out to someone who inspires you, even if you’ve never met them. Motivate yourself by training for a triathlon or other seemingly-impossible physical challenge. You might not make the race, get the job or solve world hunger, but then again, you just might. Putting it out there makes it possible and a whole lot of fun to think about.
What’s your pie-in-the-sky action for the week? What excites you? What inspired step will you take today?
