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“Choose your attitude and your actions and boldy act!” – Big Fish Principle #7

The most frustrated people I know are not in action.  When we get stuck, we often try to think our way into action, but that just gets us even more stuck.  

It reminds me of getting a car stuck in the mud.  The more we spin our wheels (or just sit there!), the deeper our tires go into the mud, and the harder it is to get out of that rut.  The only way out is to try something different:  we can’t expect to get different results by just doing the same thing over and over.   With the car in the mud, we can try a gentle approach, rocking the car by pushing gently on the gas, then easing off…  or we can go BIG and BOLD and just get a tow truck to pull us out.  

It’s the same with choosing our attitude, especially when we feel “stuck.”  We can decide if we want/need to move gently into action with a small step or two forward, or if we need a much stronger push (from ourselves or someone else) to launch us into action.  Either way, we need to try something different, and we need to TAKE ACTION.

I know it’s often easier said than done, so here are some tips for how to launch into action: 

1. DECIDE to act.  Inaction is often a direct result of indecision, so decide now to shift your “stuck” energy toward forward movement.   Use your power of choice! 
2. DEFINE your goals.  Get crystal clear about what you want to accomplish in November and December.  Without that clarity, your action is just a spinning wheel in the mud.  Try this yourself now, then join other Big Fish in our Annual Goal-Setting Teleclass to get a jump start on 2011!  
3. DEFY your fears.  Inaction often comes from indecision… and indecision often comes from fear.  “What will they think?” or “What if I fail?” or “I can’t do this!”   Those are all just thoughts (remember, when we are stuck, we think too much!) and attitudes, which we have the power to change.  As Napoleon Hill says in his book Think & Grow Rich, “Fears are nothing more than states of mind. One’s state of mind is subject to control and direction.”  We can choose to step through the fear and ACT anyway.  
4. DO it.  Today on Twitter I saw a perfect quote for this (thanks @daily_shine!) from Tamara Mellon, Founder & CEO of Jimmy Choo shoes:  “The fear of something is often worse than actually doing it.”  So stop fearing and start DOING!

If you’re feeling stuck, what is holding you back from taking action?  

And if you are in action, what can you do to help someone else get out of the mud? 

 (Note:  Other Big Fish will be blogging this week about this same topic!  Make sure to check the comments for links to their blog posts!)

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