Mood Follows Action

Why Doing Comes First

Motivation is great when you have it.

The trouble is, it doesn't always show up when you need it.

You can wait until you're inspired to write, until you're enthusiastic about your workout, or in the mood to tackle a difficult problem. Or you can begin.

We often treat motivation as the necessary starting point for action. But when we've already decided that something matters, waiting for the right mood can become an elaborate way of avoiding the work.

Action doesn't always follow motivation. Often, motivation follows action, and the ability to act without waiting for enthusiasm is a considerable advantage.

What about inspiration? Procrastination? Or those moods that seem determined to get in our way?

Inspiration comes and goes, and is often missing when it's time to get something done.

Procrastination, meanwhile, isn't always a problem of time management. Often, it's an attempt to escape the discomfort associated with a task: boredom, uncertainty, anxiety, resentment, or the possibility of doing something poorly.

And mood? Waiting to feel better can become the very habit that keeps us from beginning.

We have a secret weapon, however. That weapon is ACTION.

Taking a next step—even the smallest of steps—changes our relationship to the task. What was something we were avoiding becomes something we're doing.

Beginning can improve our mood, generate momentum, and make the next step easier. And sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the work remains difficult, tedious, or unpleasant, and guess what?

We can move forward anyway.

Mood often follows action. But action doesn't have to wait for mood.

We are the sum of our habits, after all, and taking action when it's time—regardless of how we feel—is a habit that can be built and strengthened.

The Power in Following Through

There is a difference between deciding to do something and actually doing it.

We make plans, establish priorities, set goals, and commit to responsibilities. We know what we intend to accomplish. But intention alone accomplishes little.

Self-command bridges the two.

Self-command is the ability and penchant to act on a decision we've made, rather than continually renegotiating that decision according to how we feel at any given moment.

This doesn't mean ignoring physical limitations or refusing to reconsider a decision when circumstances change. It means recognizing that ordinary reluctance, boredom, and lack of enthusiasm aren't necessarily good reasons to abandon what matters.

Self-command is built through practice. Each time we follow through on a considered decision, we strengthen the habit of acting without requiring favorable conditions.

We also establish something important: credibility with ourselves.

When our actions regularly support our decisions, we have reason to trust our own follow-through. That trust influences how we operate with others and strengthens Personal Agency.

Self-command isn't simply about productivity or getting things done. It's about becoming someone who acts on considered decisions rather than continually negotiating with passing moods.

The Bottom Line

Do your job, your workout, your task, your duty—when it's time. Attend to your responsibilities, deadlines, commitments, and goals whether you feel like it or not.

The work gets done. Progress accumulates. And over time, the way you operate—and what you're capable of accomplishing—changes.

Remember: the most motivating word in the world is PROGRESS.

Progress is the manuscript taking shape, the miles accumulating, the business developing, the difficult problem being worked through rather than avoided.

We don't need to wait for motivation to begin creating that evidence. We need to begin.

Dedicating yourself to doing, whether or not you feel motivated, will move mountains—and YOU.