Action

Years ago I bought an e-book titled "BANABU." An acronym for Building A New And Better yoU (or Universe) can't remember that last part, I think it was because they were going back and forth with it as well. Anyway the whole point of their e-book project was to basically summarize the take home messages from 1,000's of self-help type books. One of the principles (they have 11 principles outlined) is what is considered the basic building blocks of success. Another acronym called TEAR.

Thought

Emotion

Action

Results

In my newsletter for February 2010 I addressed the emotion part. Now for the second hardest part (I think). Action.

In fitness & health terms it goes like this:

Thought = "I want to be in shape this year."

Emotion = This is the WHY part but with feelings attached. Read my newsletter

Action = Think this as the bridge between dreams and reality. Without action you are simply a dreamer. Without emotion you may act on it but not really know why, lose momentum and fall off the wagon. Action takes planning, scheduling, education, food choice, outsourcing – trainer, classes, nutritionist.

Newton's first law of motion (law of inertia) states that, "An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion…"

Watching the World's Strongest Man competitions where these guys pull semi-trucks, planes and trains, you will notice that the successful ones are not taking big steps. Rather it's continuous small determined steps. This builds momentum.

The To Do List or Goals List

So you have the thought in your head to do something great. You put the passion behind the intention as to why you are doing this. So let's do something about it. How?

Create an action plan or to do list. Example (fitness related):

Get educated. Buy books, magazines, videos or browse the internet on exercises and nutrition.

Create workspace. Designate a room for exercise, map walking/ running trails, visit gym to join or classes to take.

Schedule time. Are you going to workout before work, at lunch, after work or around other's schedules? Whatever/ whenever it is stick to it just like you would with an appointment anywhere else, but realize this is the most important appointment. It's you time.

Evaluate. Write down certain personal statistics such as strength, endurance, bodyweight, bodyfat percentages, circumference measurements, clothes sizes or maybe even a before picture.

Determine the next step. "I can leg press 100 pounds, but I want to be able to do 120 pounds in two weeks." "I can run for 30 seconds, but I want to be able do three 1:00 runs in 3 weeks." "I weigh _____ or my measurements are ______ right now, but in a month I want to be at _______."

Cross off achievements. This is gratifyingly addictive. Celebrate the victories!

Determine the next step. Yes keep the momentum going and set more goals. The passion is there because the Results are being realized.