Identify Your Actions

The more you can identify an action, the more you can make it repeatable. A clear action is a clear process. A clear discipline. It’s often not the huge, make-it-or-break-it events that define our lives (though they can be wonderful) it is the small habits that build up to that event. Running a race involves dozens of small runs that must be repeated over and over again. Learning how to code requires hours of focus, learning, and practice. Learning a difficult song on the guitar involves practicing the same sets of chords and finger placements. What we see is the final product: the beautiful song, the internet, and a fast race. What we overlook is the consistent discipline, day after day, hour by hour.

Consider the little actions throughout your day. You are likely doing things every day that can be quickly replaced with an action, that once clearly identified, can be used for a final product one day. Be present and intentional with what you are doing. You don’t need to maximize every possible minute, but every day should have a purpose. Every purpose should have goals, dreams, and ideas. Through these we have actions that align with them – disciplines that reach our goals, steps we take toward our dream, and methods to act on our ideas. Connect the action to the end result and your life will have more coherency with what you believe and what you do.

Identify your actions. Clarify what builds you to where you want to go, and as you learn to clearly see it, clearly do it. Take the action needed to get there, because your future self will thank you for your discipline and persistence. As you build into what you want, you end up enjoying and experiencing a lifelong building process. Find the joy in the building today, and go do it.