What Is Blocking Your Action? 3 Ways to Get Going

“Only those who themselves go into action immediately can make appeals for action.”

- Lenin

Especially since starting my own business, I have enjoyed the peaceful, yet exciting, transition from one year into the next. I take time to reflect on the things that happened in the previous year, and I eagerly anticipate the possibilities that lie ahead.

That’s why it seemed strange when I woke up on Sunday feeling so exhausted. As soon as I finished breakfast (my favorite French toast recipe), I wanted to crawl back into bed. Perhaps it was a food coma coming on, but it seemed to be something more. After a few hours of relaxed reading and still not feeling energetic, I realized that my physical resistance was likely due to some lingering mental resistance, namely a few loose ends from the holidays.

It was even more disconcerting when I felt the same way on Monday. I decided it was time to clear some mental blocks so that I could quickly make some progress on my exciting goals.

You, too, have set some inspiring goals for 2009, and the sooner you go into action, the quicker you’ll build momentum. In case you may be experiencing mental resistance, here are some of the typical blocks, with ideas to inspire you to overcome them.

- Overwhelm: With a long list of roles and goals, you’ve likely got a lot of thoughts swimming around in your head, including those associated with incomplete tasks, new ideas, and upcoming events. David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, would call them “open loops”--thoughts that take up mental RAM. Get those thoughts out of your head and into a more useful form, like calendar items, next-action lists, or project folders. My favorite resources for organization tools are www.Levenger.com and www.DIYplanner.com. At both of these sites, you’ll find tools and templates that offer new ways of organizing your thoughts.

- Lack of clarity: When you look at your task list, is each item a specific action? If not, then you’re looking at a project list, not a task list. I encourage you to break apart those projects into “next actions” so that you can move forward on them.

- Lack of motivation: Are there any items on your list that deplete your energy as soon as you read them? If so, then you may not have made a firm personal commitment to them yet. For those items that feel like obligations, I invite you to explore the core reasons for putting them on your list. If the action itself feels like a “should do,” it must be on the list because the expected outcome is something you really want. Focus your attention on the outcome, and then ask yourself what actions will help you get there. Which of those actions will be the most fun, and what could you do to increase the fun factor of those that you dread?

As a leader, you are often making “appeals for action”--trying to influence others to work towards important objectives. As Lenin recognized, no appeal speaks as loudly as your own action. I’d love to know what tools and techniques you use to spur yourself into action, so please share your favorite tips and resources here.

Here’s to taking action that inspires action...Cheers!