How Taking Action Inspires Motivation

The "Do Something" Principle

We all experience moments when we feel hesitant or resistant to move forward, whether because of fear, boredom, or lack of motivation.

Motivation is typically perceived along the lines of:

Emotional Inspiration → Motivation → Action…

The problem with this thought process is that our negative emotions are often a hindrance.

It’s the fundamental basis for “getting in our own way.”

We naturally create impediments for ourselves to traverse without any true external influence.

It manifests into avoidance, common for all if we’re not mindful.

Which is why it takes more energy to start the thing than to do the thing.

However, this is where human nature is incredible, and our innate ability to adapt and reframe our mindset becomes valuable.

Let’s flip that process on its head and consider how to create motivation by taking action first and bypassing the tendency for our emotions to hold us back when we experience something like fear or hesitance.

It starts with building action-oriented routines and habits, incorporating them within a larger framework to build momentum, and discerning the instances where action must be guided by calibration.

Take the smallest action first

The concept of taking the smallest action first is found in many resources about building and sustaining habits—James Clear's Atomic Habits and BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits are two well-known books on the subject.

Basic example:

I dread pulling together PowerPoint presentations.

It’s not exciting to me (is it to anyone!?), and avoidance becomes the default tendency without psychological enjoyment or challenge.

For instance, when I start the deck for my Board meeting, I do the most straightforward task: copy the last meeting file, open it, and change the date.

Suddenly, here I am, in the file, feeling less dread. Once I change the date, I find myself adjusting the agenda.

Then, I start to build the outline. Ten minutes pass, and the outline is complete and ready to receive updated content.

At this point, I’m more energized and engaged because I’m excited about the positive updates for the Board.

Tedious tasks tend to drain me, and I’ve found that flipping my internal narrative and choosing a simple task first spurs further motivation and action.

Often, the stories and narratives we tell ourselves are what immobilize us.

As soon as we understand that negative emotions dissipate once we start doing the thing, a habit begins to form.

I’ve applied this to countless situations where motivation is difficult to find, and it works every single time.

More often than not, avoidance is surpassable.

The “Do Something” Principle

Another way to look at this is the “Do Something” Principle, created by Mark Manson, reframing our default operating procedure.

“Action isn’t just the effect of motivation, but also the cause of it.”

Therefore, it’s not a linear process but an endless loop.

We can start from anywhere:

It seems intuitive that inspiration and motivation precede action, but the opposite is often more effective.

Action tends to increase motivation:

Action → Inspiration → Motivation → Action…

As with my PowerPoint example above, this principle applies well to low-impact, everyday tasks that we perceive as energy-draining, intimidating, or uncertain.

Consider the time we waste procrastinating on little things like this every day.

It also pairs well with Type 2 decisions, which are low-risk, reversible, and allow for iteration and adjustment.

Every action we take is a choice - the ability to move forward lies in our control.

When to include a calibration step

Situations where a decision must be made that carries more risk and is irreversible, such as Type 1 decisions, require more discernment.

In general, for more complex tasks, decisions, and pursuits, it’s valuable to modify this principle to create guardrails for the action:

Calibration → Action → Inspiration → Motivation…

I’ve had to make many hard calls over the past two years.

Going into these decisions, had I acted quickly to take action and get myself through those scenarios, I would have made the wrong move in multiple cases.

I’ve learned to step back, look at the big picture, ask calibrating questions, and do my diligence by seeking advisory counsel before proceeding.

Here’s the trick, though—calibration still produces forward momentum.

It precedes the action or decision itself, but our mind can’t tell the difference from a motivational standpoint.

It’s about the courage to take a step forward and the humility to recognize that we’re often wrong - in the AND, not the OR.

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This principle is essential in leadership. Many of us are in positions where others don’t explicitly direct our daily actions.

Doubt and uncertainty can cause us to pause unnecessarily when a decision or action is needed.

Self-accountability and discipline are crucial in these situations.

Priorities, strategy, delegation, communication, etc. - we’re responsible for deciding how we spend our time and energy and must develop a habit of intrinsically motivating ourselves.

It’s as essential in the collective as it is individually. Our actions as leaders often inspire and motivate our teams to take their own steps forward.

Be biased toward action, be decisive, AND know when to be patient and practice restraint to calibrate direction.