Ways To Act That Turn Dreams Into Reality

What makes dreams come true? I think the most important (and often overlooked) thing is just to act. I was really bad when I was younger. At the time, I usually found myself stuck. I got stuck in my dreams about what I wanted to try and do. I got stuck in analysis paralysis, procrastination, and pessimism because of my habit of thinking too much about things.

But things have changed a lot since then. I added a lot of new habits that help me take more action than I used to. I hope this week's article will help you do the same.

1. Start your day by doing the most important thing.
I learned this a few years ago when I sold advertising space.

The boss told us that if we took care of the most important task of the day (often one of the most difficult too) in the morning, the rest of the day would be much easier and lighter.

He was right about it.

When this first and most important task is finished, you no longer have to worry about it.
This will not weigh on your day.
You feel good about yourself.

And you will have less inner resistance to act for the rest of the day.

2. Simply take responsibility for your actions.
Basically, I do what I think is right and it is my responsibility.
And then the rest (the possible results), well, it's not for me to decide or try to control.

I let go.

Taking action becomes so much lighter when you just have to take responsibility for doing what you think is right.

3. Don't you want to act? Start small.
Doing the most important thing in the first place during your day and preparing for an action-packed day sounds great in theory.

But in reality, you will have days without motivation.

The days when you feel emotionally weak or when you are forced to act and do something you don't want to do.

It's life.
But there is no reason to let this day sink into your inaction and make you feel sorry for yourself.

I have found that the best thing to do in these situations is to start very small. For :

Write for 1 to 2 minutes.
Lift weights for only a few repetitions.
Spend 1 minute to start something that scares me.
After that, I have the choice to go do something else.

But I rarely do it.

I just need a simple way to get started and then, when I'm on the move, I usually keep acting for a little longer.

4. Don't hurt yourself.
It is a powerful motivator for me to grow up and become a better person.

If I don't do what I think is the right thing to do, I hurt my self-esteem.
What I do (or don't do) during my day sends me powerful signals to tell me what kind of person I am.

There is no escape.
And there is always a price to pay when you don't do what you think is the right thing.

5. Stay focused to act by creating a reminder.
If you don't often remember what to focus on and why you do it, then it's easy to let the days go by or spend too much time on less important things.

So, create a simple reminder to act on a sheet of paper.
You can for example write:

Your top 3 priorities in life right now.
Your most vital goal or new habit for the subsequent 30 days.
A motto or quote on which you want to stay focused and live at this point in your life.

6. Perform fully concentrated work and fully relaxing rest.
Get your kitchen timer or access the stopwatch feature on your cell phone.

Set the timer for 45 minutes.
During these minutes, just work on your most important task / small step forward.
Nothing else.
No distractions.

After these 45 minutes have passed, take a relaxing break.

Have fun on Facebook if you want.
Or walk away from your workspace and take a short walk, stretch, or grab an apple for the next 15 minutes.

By working on these well-targeted time periods, you:

Do more and do better work.
Are able to focus longer in your day and week and get less tired.
You train to focus on one thing at a time, instead of getting stuck in your mind between work and relaxation and building up friction and stress.
Are you able to enjoy your rest periods without a guilty conscience?
45 minutes of work, is that too much?

Try 25 minutes instead.

Procrastinating halfway through your 25 minute period?

Set the timer for 10 or 5 minutes and accumulate the time that you can fully concentrate on work over the next few weeks and months.

7. Focus more on how to act and less on assumptions.
If your thoughts start to spin while you are thinking about acting, then in your mind shout: STOP!

Don't get stuck in the negative spiral of analytical paralysis.

Of course, it is smart to think before you act in many cases.

But thinking about things too much tends to become a way of trying to control things you can't control or just staying away from the action because you're afraid in some way.

After saying stop this train of thought, open your mind to what you CAN DO instead of all the things that could go wrong in the worst case.

Ask yourself questions like:

What is a small step I can take today to act and move towards my goal or get out of this situation?
What can I learn from this situation?
Write down the responses you get and take the appropriate action.

How about you? What are your ways to turn something into REALITY?