What Comes First.... Motivation or Action?

This post is inspired by motivational speaker, Doug Nielsen.
Take some time and watch his videos.

Which comes first, motivation or action? Most folks say motivation comes first. After all, we all need something to get us going, some heart-felt energy to drive ourselves to take the first few steps in a new venture, don’t we?

I’m firmly in the ACTION camp.

Some of us have little to no motivation, yet struggle ahead in a particular direction anyway. When it comes right down to it, we can all think of personal examples.

For example, most of us go to a job we do not enjoy, for less pay than we feel we deserve, for a boss we do not like, etc. We get up everyday and do it anyway. It may be a sense of obligation, of duty, of fear of loss, and so on.

Another example could be exercise. Many of us are motivated to set this goal at this time of year. We buy a piece of exercise equipment, only to have it become a dust collector. We are motivated, but our actions do not follow. So you can see that it was not helpful that our motivation came ahead of our actual (in)action.

Motivation alone isn’t always enough.

I played hockey when I was younger, but did not start to play goal till I was 12 years old. The coach had asked me to play goal but I did not want to. Playing out was fun, scoring goals was fun. My first game in goal, we lost 12 to 3. I certainly did not want to do that again! The coach sat me on his knee and told me I could not quit after my first time out. I had to play the next game.

I cried! But what he said made sense. I was not a quitter. The next game, we won and I was the hero. I did not want to do it at first. But it got easier as I got better. I was still scared stiff before every game, but I enjoyed the recognition and the challenge. I went on to have a fairly successful career as a goaltender. I certainly played at much higher levels than I could have as a forward…all thanks to that initial push and my coach.

So find any reason to continue, but just don’t quit.

From the Inside Looking Out…Not the Outside Looking In

Think back to a time when you got excited about something. Was it when you were looking at it from the outside and you knew next to nothing about it? Or was it from the inside, after you got over the hard, initial phase and could now see the real possibilities?

The latter, right? That’s because this is the wonderful, I-now-know-I-can-do-this-thing phase.
Is there something you’d like to try but just can’t seem to muster the effort? This is truly the hardest part. Stay with your project long enough to develop the skills, and each step will take you closer to victory.

In network distribution, there are people who have gone before you and who have skills that they want to share with you. Find your coach who believes in you and take that belief and motivation. Push yourself to develop the skills, and your confidence will grow. Then, your motivation will grow through the roof!

My friends, ACT FIRST. The motivation will follow.