Sunday, September 20, 2015

Real Change Part 4: The Action/Inspiration Cycle

What do success and sex have in common? A little bit makes you want more!

All analogies aside, taking action that results in success inspires more action, which leads to more success.

Taking that first exploratory step is often the most difficult, so it is understandable that we hesitate.... lose courage, and sometimes stop.

Yet, have you ever had the experience of trying something you were a little uncertain about, only to find out it wasn't as bad or painful as you thought it might be?

In fact, maybe you even liked it! And not only were you willing to do it again, you looked for opportunities to do it again!

That's the Action/Inspiration Cycle.

But what about when taking action results in something less than success? There are still two beneficial outcomes: Momentum and Learning.

Momentum: In the beautiful illustration above, even when the arcing line turns downward, it is still in motion and eventually turns upward. Just like when you are skiing or bicycling, building up a little speed going downhill can actually help propel you back up. Your personal power is enhanced when you have momentum. Here's another reason to build momentum: If you are not in motion, you are stagnant. Think about that.

Learning: The words "mistake" and "failure" have terribly harmful connotations in our culture and our minds.

Would you think I was crazy if I told you that failure is a good thing? I love the story of WD40 to illustrate this point. WD stands for Water Displacement. But do you know what the 40 stands for? It took the inventors 40 tries to get the formulation right. How many of us would have stopped at 39 tries? 30? 10? or even 2?

To my mind, failure should be cause for celebration, because it eliminates a way that doesn't work and zeros in on what might work next time. Failure is an opportunity to learn something very valuable. And those opportunities don't come along often enough.

Bottom Line: Take action to get into motion, and let the outcome inspire more action. Get on the Action/Inspiration Cycle, and eventually you will spiral up!

Want to read the the previous posts from the "Real Change" series? 
Here they are:
Part 1: Find the Gap
Part 2: Finding Resources
Part 3: Overcoming Obstacles

Stay tuned for Part 5 coming October 20. See you then!




Linda Spevacek is an innovative speaker, author and coach who can help you create prosperity across all aspects of your life. For speaking topics and programs, visit www.ExpertProsperity.com

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