We talk a lot about motivation as though it has to come first.
I need to get motivated to exercise. Motivated to make the call, to deal with finances honestly, to go to a meeting, have the conversation, clean up the mess, or do whatever else I already suspect would probably be good for me.
But what if motivation is sometimes the result rather than the prerequisite?
An expression I’ve always liked is “act your way into right thinking.” Some people call it “fake it till you make it,” although I prefer the first version. The point is simple: sometimes waiting for my thinking to change before I act keeps me stuck.
Trying to fight a thought with another thought can feel a little like stepping into quicksand. I can spend an awful lot of energy arguing with myself about why I should do something, while only getting myself more stuck.
The better move is not to step into that pit in the first place. Instead of trying to think my way into action, sometimes the action itself needs to come first. One small step can be enough to get things moving.
There’s a chicken-and-egg quality to this. Action can create momentum. Once I do something that helps me, I have evidence that I can do it again, and motivation may be easier to find the next time.
Motivation is great when it’s present, but I choose not to give it veto power.
Sometimes I just need to begin.
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