{"id":5193,"date":"2013-06-27T11:40:59","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T15:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamesclear-com.uar9g7bv-liquidwebsites.com\/?p=5193"},"modified":"2020-02-03T21:29:09","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T02:29:09","slug":"taking-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/taking-action","title":{"rendered":"The Mistake Smart People Make: Being In Motion vs. Taking Action"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This article is an excerpt from <a href=\"https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/atomic-habits\">Atomic Habits<\/a>, my New York Times bestselling book.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There is a common mistake that often happens to smart people \u2014 in many cases, without you ever realizing it.<\/p>\n<p>The mistake has to do with the difference between being in motion and taking action. They sound similar, but they\u2019re not the same.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the deal&#8230;<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17386 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/motion-vs-action.jpg\" alt=\"Being in motion vs taking action\" width=\"1400\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/motion-vs-action.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/motion-vs-action-1200x771.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/motion-vs-action-768x494.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/motion-vs-action-960x617.jpg 960w, https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/motion-vs-action-700x450.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Motion vs. Action<\/h2>\n<p>When you\u2019re in motion, you\u2019re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don\u2019t produce a result. Action, on the other hand, is the type of behavior that will deliver an outcome. <a href=\"#footnote-1-5193\" id=\"note-1-5193\" rel=\"footnote\">1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here are some examples&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If I outline 20 ideas for articles I want to write, that\u2019s motion. If I actually write and publish an article, that\u2019s action.<\/li>\n<li>If I email 10 new leads for my business and start conversations with them, that\u2019s motion. If they actually buy something and turn into a customer, that\u2019s action.<\/li>\n<li>If I search for a better diet plan and read a few books on the topic, that\u2019s motion. If I actually eat a healthy meal, that\u2019s action.<\/li>\n<li>If I go to the gym and ask about getting a personal trainer, that\u2019s motion. If I actually step under the bar and start squatting, that\u2019s action.<\/li>\n<li>If I study for a test or prepare for a research project, that\u2019s motion. If I actually take the test or write my research paper, that\u2019s action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"04BodyText\">Sometimes motion is useful, but it will never produce an outcome by itself. It doesn\u2019t matter how many times you go talk to the personal trainer, that motion will never get you in shape. Only the action of working out will get the result you\u2019re looking to achieve.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Smart People Find Themselves in Motion<\/h2>\n<p class=\"04BodyText\">If motion doesn\u2019t lead to results, why do we do it? Sometimes we do it because we actually need to plan or learn more. But more often than not, we do it because motion allows us to feel like we're making progress without running the risk of failure. Most of us are experts at avoiding criticism. It doesn\u2019t feel good to fail or to be judged publicly, so we tend to avoid situations where that might happen. And that's the biggest reason why you slip into motion rather than taking action: you want to delay failure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes, I'd like to get in shape.<\/strong> But, I don\u2019t want to look stupid in the gym, so I\u2019ll just talk to the trainer about their rates instead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes, I'd like to land more clients for my business.<\/strong> But, if I ask for the sale, I might get turned down. So maybe I should just email 10 potential clients instead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes, I'd like to lose weight.<\/strong> But, I don't want to be the weird one who eats healthy at lunch. So maybe I should just plan some healthy meals when I get home instead.<\/p>\n<p>It's easy to be in motion and convince yourself that you're still making progress. You think, <em>\u201cI\u2019ve got conversations going with four potential clients right now. This is good. We\u2019re moving in the right direction.\u201d <\/em>Or, <em>\u201cI brainstormed some ideas for that book I want to write. This is coming together.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Motion makes you feel like you\u2019re getting things done. But really, you\u2019re just preparing to get something done. When preparation becomes a form of procrastination, you need to change something. You don\u2019t want to merely be planning. You want to be practicing.<\/p>\n<h2>Ideas for Taking Action<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m sure there are many strategies for taking action, but I can think of two that have worked for me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Set a schedule for your actions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Every Monday and every Thursday, I write a new article and publish it to the world. It\u2019s just what happens on those days. It\u2019s my schedule. I love Mondays and Thursdays because I know that I will always produce something on those days. I'll get a result. That\u2019s a good feeling.<\/p>\n<p>For weightlifting, I train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That\u2019s the schedule every week. I\u2019m not planning workout exercises. I\u2019m not researching workout programs. I\u2019m simply working out. Action, not motion.<\/p>\n<p>For on\u2013going goals and lifestyle changes, I think this is the best approach. <a href=\"https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/schedule\">Set a schedule<\/a> for your actions and stick to it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Pick a date to shift you from motion to action.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For some goals, setting a daily or weekly schedule doesn\u2019t work as well.<\/p>\n<p>This is the case if you\u2019re doing something that is only going to happen once: like releasing your new book, or launching a new product, or taking a big exam, or submitting a major project.<\/p>\n<p>These things require some planning up front (motion). They also require plenty of action to complete them. For example, you could set a schedule each week to write each chapter of your book. But for the book launch itself, you could spend weeks or months planning different venues, locations, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>In a situation like this, I find that it\u2019s best to simply pick a date. Put something on the calendar. Make it public. This is when X is happening.<\/p>\n<p>For big projects or one\u2013time goals, I think this is the best approach. Force yourself out of motion and into action by <a href=\"https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/implementation-intentions\">setting a hard deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Choose Action<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>Never mistake activity for achievement.<br \/>\n\u2014John Wooden<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Motion will never produce a final result. Action will.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re in motion, you\u2019re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don\u2019t produce a result.<\/p>\n<p>Are you doing something? Or are you just preparing to do it?<\/p>\n<p>Are you in motion? Or are you taking action?<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is an excerpt from Chapter 11 of my New York Times bestselling book\u00a0Atomic\u00a0Habits.\u00a0<a title=\"Read more here\" href=\"https:\/\/jamesclear.com\/atomic-habits\">Read more here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"footnotes\"><div class=\"footnotetitle\">Footnotes<\/div><ol><li id=\"footnote-1-5193\" class=\"footnote\"><p>Hat tip to Steve Blank for <a title=\"steve blank motion action\" href=\"http:\/\/steveblank.com\/2009\/11\/09\/relentless-%E2%80%93-the-difference-between-motion-and-action\/\">originally writing<\/a> about motion and action.<\/p><\/li><!--\/#footnote-1.footnote--><\/ol><\/div><!--\/#footnotes-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article is an excerpt from Atomic Habits, my New York Times bestselling book. There is a common mistake that often happens to smart people \u2014 in many cases, without you ever realizing it. The mistake has to do with the difference between being in motion and taking action. They sound similar, but they\u2019re not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-productivity","category-self-improvement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Mistake Smart People Make: Being In Motion vs. Taking Action<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you taking action or are you simply in motion? 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