Episode 9 Actions create results
Intro with music
Hello and welcome to episode 9. This episode is all about action, how actions happen (or don’t happen) and how actions add up to create results. If you struggle with not feeling motivated to do what you want to be doing, this episode is for you.
Music
In previous episodes, I shared that thoughts create feelings, and feelings drive actions. Today we’ll focus on how actions create results.
The actions we take, big and small, add up to results, for better or worse. Similarly, the actions we don’t take add up to results, also for better or worse.
For example, you notice a painting class being offered in your area. You think you’d like to try it, and you feel excited. You look online at the date and time and make a list of the materials you need to buy. You pay the fee, mark your calendar, pick up the necessary supplies, and eventually get in the car and drive to your first class. You listen to the instruction, mix colors, and put paintbrush to canvas. Ultimately you end up with a painting—the result of your many actions.
Inactions also add up to results. Although most of us acknowledge that we should eat healthfully and exercise, we often choose inaction instead. Not buying the healthy foods, not meal prepping, not going for a walk or hitting the gym, not being willing to feel difficult feelings so numbing with comfort food instead (listen to episode 5 for more on that). Actions like these that we don’t take….. can add up to results that we don’t want—typically added pounds or health issues.
As we learned in the previous episode, all actions (or inactions) are fueled by our feelings. And all feelings are created by our thoughts. So, when we are not taking a desired action, we can ask ourselves what thoughts and feelings are prompting our current, undesirable actions. In addition, notice the result the action or inaction has created.
It’s easy to think that you just need to force yourself to take actions. And it might work for a short while. That’s white knuckling it. It doesn’t make for long term success. And there’s a much better way.
To change our actions, we need to decide what feeling would prompt the desired action. Then consider what thought would create that feeling. Finally, we can direct our brains to choose that thought.
By thinking a true thought, on purpose, you can feel any feeling you want to feel, and actions naturally flow from there. Actions in aggregate then create a result.
What result do you want to create in your life after loss? Maybe you want to get a degree, travel to Europe, move to a new town, or make new friends.
What actions would you need to take?
What feeling would you need to be feeling in order to take those actions?
And what thought would genuinely create that feeling?
So remember…….
• Thoughts create feelings, and feelings prompt action or inaction.
• The actions we take (or don’t take) add up to results, for better or worse.
• When taking undesirable actions, ask yourself what thoughts and feelings are prompting those actions. Notice the result the actions are creating.
• Taking desirable actions requires finding the thought that will create the feeling that will prompt the desirable actions.
These past few episodes are the foundation of what I teach and how I coach my clients. In upcoming episodes, we’ll apply these concepts to life after loss, and they will help you take bigger strides in your journey. So be sure to subscribe now, because much more is to come. In the meantime, remember that I believe in you, and I’m here for you. Take care.
