Movement Vs. Action: Understanding the Difference

Movement and action seem similar, but they’re not. Knowing the difference between the two can affect how successful you are in life and your level of fulfillment.

 

What Is the Difference Between Movement and Action?

Movement and action are necessary steps for achieving your goals. Movement refers to the planning and strategizing part of the process. It’s a good thing but it doesn’t produce results.

Rather, it’s action that delivers your desired outcomes. So, if you’re failing to see the results you were hoping for, you may need to focus on action more.

Let’s take a look at some motion vs action examples:

Starting a Healthy Lifestyle

  • Motion – Researching a healthy diet plan, reading books about it, visiting the gym, and making inquiries
  • Action – Eating healthy meals and exercising at the gym

Writing an Article

  • Motion – Thinking of topics for articles
  • Action – Working on a draft

Connecting With Leads for Work

  • Motion – Planning lead generation initiatives
  • Action – Writing and sending out emails to generate leads

 

Why Do Smart People Get Stuck on Movement?

Planning or movement helps people organize their thoughts and tasks. Plus, it makes them feel like there is progress, so the task is not a failure. Sometimes, they may also want to delay a probable failure.

Let’s take lead generation as an example. You may have a perfectly good plan to send out emails, however, you may delay putting motion in action because you fear rejection. 

Unfortunately for many, it’s easier to remain in movement and be under the illusion that they’re making progress instead of taking action. 

So, what is taking action? Action is taking a risk that could mean success or failure. 

However, when you take action, you’re able to learn something regardless of the outcome and move on. 

 

Tips for Taking Action

Movement makes you feel like you’re getting things done but in reality, you’re merely preparing to get started. This is why preparation can easily turn into procrastination. 

Here are some tips to avoid procrastination and take action:

1. Create a Schedule

Creating a schedule forces you to turn your movement into action by a certain date. 

For example: Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. – Send 10 lead generation emails daily

  5 p.m. – Go to the gym

Some taking action examples include writing and sending emails and going to the gym after office hours. Of course, this is just an example. 

The point is, when you have a schedule, you have a specific task that will motivate you to get started and continue going. Having a schedule can help you take a goal from movement to action. 

2. Pick a Date to Transition

Along with a schedule, pick a date when you intend to transition from movement to action. Defining a specific date ahead of time strengthens your resolve and commitment to getting something done. It also gives you fewer excuses and prevents you from delaying something that you’ve decided to do at a certain moment.

When choosing your transition date, make sure that it’s realistic and gives you ample time to prepare and engage in movement. In our lead generation example, you’ll need to do some research on your target market and identify the lead generation methods that are ideal for your business before you can actually start on implementation.

So, be diligent in your preparation and ensure that you have what you need for the most positive outcome. But hold yourself to your transition date so you don’t end up perpetually delaying something that needs to get done.

Movement and action are essential but sometimes, the latter is more challenging to enact. By creating a schedule and choosing a transition date, you can avoid getting stuck and can help yourself live the life you want.

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