Two Simple Ways to Make Every Action Count

Act

How many times a day do you hear about the need to take action? If you want to get anything done,  you have to take action. It is the key to improving any aspect of your life or making your dreams come true.

Motion is not necessarily action.

“There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.” ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

People confuse movement with action. You can be busy moving around and doing stuff all day. When you think about what you accomplished, it is just busy work that does not move you forward in your life. Examples of this include: shuffling paper, being on the phone or online doing one thing after an other in hopes of getting something done but without a clear purpose. It ends up being a waste of time and energy. So how do you make your actions count?

1. Effective action

What is effective action? It is focused effort. You put your heart and soul into what you are doing as if your life depends on it. You give it the best you can. You eliminate distractions and perform the task from a place of power. You give every task you do the same attention and care. Effective action is the most direct and straight way to achieve your desired results. It is simple, powerful and efficient.

2. Inspired action

It is what you do with joy. It is action that feels more like fun than hard work. It comes from doing something that excites you and gets you going. Sometimes you don’t think it is work at all. It is action with a sense of purpose. It comes from your own truth, not ego. It’s not about winning or competing.

“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” ~Jules Renard

Inspired action is the small steps that reflect your values and move you towards your heart’s desires.

Does action have to be both?

Not necessarily.

If you have to do something that you doesn’t inspire you, it can still be done in an effective manner. Do it with all of your power and give it the best you can regardless of how trivial or mundane it may seem.

Losing yourself in what you are doing can be the catalyst for inspiration.

Another interesting thing about effective action: as you continue doing things with focus and power, you start appreciating the smallest things. As time goes by, this appreciation turns the simplest acts into inspired action that gives you joy and fulfillment.

You may ask can my action be inspired but not effective? My answer is: I don’t think so.

If you are doing something from a place of joy and truth, you will get into it and, whether you intend it or not, you will be in that zone where focus and flow come naturally.

The best way to start is to do every little action in an effective manner and the rest will take care of itself.

“Great acts are made up of small deeds.” ~Lao Tzu

For further reading on action check out The Little Rules of Action.

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