“So here is the happiness trap in a nutshell: to find happiness, we try to avoid or get rid of bad feelings, but the harder we try, the more bad feelings we create.”
— Russ Harris, “The Happiness Trap”
I carry an index card with me each day. On it are a few thoughts that I want to keep in mind throughout the day. One of the things I wrote on it recently was: “Less feeling more action.”
I, like a lot of you, spend too much time asking myself how I feel about things, rather than taking action. The truth is it doesn’t matter if I feel like doing my expenses, or transcribing an interview I completed, or exercising, or any number of things.
What matters is what I have committed to doing those things.
If I wait until I feel like doing something there’s a good chance it isn’t going to get done.
So, if I’m committed to doing a good job at work so I do the tasks that are involved. I don’t wait to feel like doing them.
If I’m committed to being healthy, I go to the gym even if I don’t feel like it.
I’m not saying you should ignore your feelings in life. I’m simply talking here about using “I don’t feel like it” as an excuse when it comes to taking action on things that you’ve committed to doing.
And here’s an amazing little secret: Once you take action, even if it’s just the smallest of steps, it creates a momentum that keeps you going. In other words: Taking action can lead you to feeling like doing something.
Today, write down what you are committed to and use that instead of your feelings to guide your actions throughout the day.
Win Your Day!
Steve Gilbert