We’ve all heard this quote, “Change our thoughts, and we change our life.” But here’s the rub – we aren’t our thoughts; we are our actions.
Here we are starting another year. What would you like to do differently?
Take Action in 2021
It's A New Year
If a positive, more productive life experience is one of this year’s resolutions, making changes and taking action will be necessary to get us there.
We may find moments in the next year when our thoughts take over, and it becomes difficult to get things done or maybe even to stay positive. We might find ourselves using the well written and deeply grooved ‘I don’t want-to-do this’ menu that repeats over and over in our minds.
We may think, “It’s too cold outside for the walk I need to take to lose weight,” when we are striving to get healthy, or “I don’t have time right now to work on that project for work,” knowing the deadline is coming and our success in the balance. Another sabotaging thought might be, “I will just buy this one sweater; it’s not that much,” when we are trying to stick to a budget.
The road ahead may seem long and hard as we come up against each obstacle and challenge, but they will eventually start to blur if we take control, press the accelerator and speed across them. Advancing won’t happen by itself. There is no chauffeur to drive us where we want to go, and it’s entirely up to us to turn the key and put action into drive.
Conquering Fear
If you want to conquer fear, don't sit around thinking about it. Go out and get busy.
Action breeds confidence and courage. Inaction breeds doubt and fear. It’s easy to dream and plan, visioning what it will look like to reach our goals, but nothing will ever happen unless we do something and take the required action steps.
As babies just learning to walk, there wasn’t fear; we just pushed up and tried, time and time again, until we mastered the action of walking.
What’s happened to us since those magical learning years? It was external programming. It all started when we looked at others’ reactions as we tried new things in developmental situations. If they were encouraging, we gained confidence. If we saw fear, we learned to be fearful. And so this cycle continued throughout our whole life – until now.
This year, we will make those life changes and do the things we’ve been longing to experience. Why? Because right now, we get to learn and practice a different way. We get to make a conscious decision to make a dramatic shift in our lives; to retrain our subconscious by engaging in the activity, we may not want to do it. It’s in that decision we become doers instead of thought makers.
Shifting our subconscious will take a little practice because negative thoughts will still take place – probably every day. But there is some good news. Each time we say yes when we don’t necessarily want to means we already have the muscle for having thoughts and acting independently of them. Now we need to flex that muscle so it gets stronger.
Thoughts Become Reality
Action may not always bring happiness, but there is never happiness without effort.
The only way to change our lives is by doing – not by thinking about doing. If left unchecked, negative beliefs and opinions about self, situations, and surroundings negatively impact our success. No matter the size, action steps get us doing and move us forward in a faster, more enjoying way to that place.
When we are engaged in the present moment, most of our negative thoughts fade away because we are busy. When done without hesitation, positive actions forward life, helping us tackle the situation at hand. It’s a win-win!
Life Is Happening Now
If we don’t take a step to shine our light, we won’t know our passions. We will never witness our greatness and truth. This light won’t just float out of our consciousness, though – we need to put some movement behind it. Until we take a step forward, we will struggle, doubt, and have sleepless nights. But, if we take action despite overthinking, breakthroughs come quicker.
Over time, our experiences get distorted, taking the potential for a positive experience further away. The mind has an unrealistic perception of the world as a way of keeping us safe.
The background noise of opinion creates a gap between how life is and how we think life is. Judging it as worse or better, more difficult or more comfortable, we struggle to get our lives to match these layers of external assumptions.
So what are we to do? Since life happens in the present moment and right now is all there really is, we must take action if we want a better experience.
Feeling Unsure?
Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but significant actions speak to all humankind.
The feeling of uncertainty is our first forward movement; it means we are ready. It’s when we experience, challenge our bodies and minds, face our fears and even fail – we change who we are. No matter how scary it feels, create an action step right now.
You’ve got this. All it takes is action. It’s about momentum – once we start moving, it’s easier to stay moving. Right now, take that first step, then the next and the next; remembering we are not our fear-filled, negative thoughts – we are what we do!
Hey, I Can Do This
Act in the opposite way of habitual negative thinking. Action at the moment means to align with what is happening right now. Doing what is in our best interest instead of the automated way we have programmed our brains to think and feel. With repetition, our minds will wake up and realize, “Hey, I can do this. I am learning.”
This year, it’s time to change your life by changing your actions. As the new year begins, please don’t get stuck looking for that magical feeling hoping it will do all the work.
It’s up to each of us to put thinking aside and move forward with action. Don’t worry about how it looks or if it’s perfect. What’s essential in life is that we take the first step and then another. Take action. Do it now.
Please share in the comments below about the action steps you are taking in 2021.
Live happier by exploring the world around you.
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Kirsti Out Wandering aspires to illustrate well-being in mind, body & spirit, giving unconditional love to self and others, and pursuing all of the wild possibilities life serves up while living full-time from a sprinter van.
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