I’m on a mission to teach you how to go from busy-but-uninspired to a life that *feels* as good on the inside as it looks on the outside.
Because you deserve to feel good.
Like: really, really good.
Hi. I'm Tiffany.
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How to *Actually* Take Action In 3 Simple Steps
For many of us, taking action can feel like an uphill battle, even if we’re motivated or inspired. The weight of uncertainty, fear of failure, and the allure of procrastination often paralyzes our best intentions.
It’s a common struggle to transform a thought into some sort of tangible action.
In my own life, I have found simple steps to take that help me actually get started.
What I am sharing with you today:
- How to take action (it’s not just about creating an attainable first step)
- The three steps that help us make things happen
- How to keep going!
So join me – you can read, listen or watch!
You can now also watch Raise Your Hand Say Yes on YouTube!
(and then you can always head back here to the show notes for each episode if you need any extra details like books I talk about or other fun stuff I mention)
Decide on Your First Step
Today we’re talking about how to *actually* take action.
But before I share the three steps to take when you want to start something, I want you to close your eyes, take a deep breath and think about something you want to take action on.
If this is something BIG, like, “I want to write my book,” let’s bring it down and consider what can I take action on today or tomorrow? (Within 48 hours or so.)
So if you want to write a book, the goal becomes to outline a table of contents, or start the introduction.
If your goal is to be creative, the smaller within-48-hours goals may become journal one page in my creativity journal.
**Sidebar: A Creativity Journal is just a place to put all your creative ideas, even if you only used it one day back in July – wink-wink.**
How to Do The Thing
Standard advice about taking action usually includes what I shared above – to set a first step and make it doable and small and specific.
But what I’m sharing today is a little bit different.
This is about How To Get Yourself To Actually Do The Thing.
This is how we get enough momentum to overcome the inertia of NOT doing.
I spent about a year and a half not podcasting and starting a YouTube Channel – so I know what I’m talking about.
It’s easy to NOT do something, right?
But if you are reading this, it’s because there is something in your life that you want that you currently don’t have. (A house? Travel? A sense of inner peace and calm? Going to bed at night and being excited for tomorrow?)
You have a GOAL.
So this is how we GO, when it’s time to take action.
1. Set the Stage
So Number 1, we want to create an environment where action becomes easy.
That’s what this looks like:
If you want to outline a book:
- Open up your outline document on your computer
- Gather your notes
If you want to be more creative:
- Get out your watercolors
- Gather your paint brushes and spray bottle
Make it easy. Because getting prepared is actually its own starting action.
It’s like a pre-action. if we haven’t done that step, then when we’re trying to jump forward, it’s harder. It takes more strength, more initial force, more power to overcome that inertia, and then nobody wins.
2. Watch The Movie
Second, I want you to close your eyes and envision yourself taking the action.
Then, ask yourself: why does this thing you want to do matter?
Why do this? Because seeing it is going to help you believe that it’s possible.
This action also helps you calm down. It calms down your nervous system, and it allows you to get into the present moment instead of just living in your head, where your brain is making up all kinds of reasons to NOT start.
Our brains are good at thinking of reasons that taking an action is uncomfortable, and it’s good at making us afraid, and then setting off alarm bells.
So breathe and watch the movie – watch yourself like you’re Michael Phelps, out there getting ready to win gold for the 400th time.
3. Take Two Breaths
Step 3 is simple, but not easy.
I want you to take a hand, and connect it with your heart center. Then take the other hand and connect it with your belly.
Then close your eyes, take a deep breath, and START.
This deep breath centers you and grounds you and tells your brain that everything is fine. It allows your nervous system to relax so that you can actually type or paint or … juggle, or whatever you want to do.
Then once you start, you take a second deep breath. (We’re shoehorning the action.)
This breath reminds you that you are alive. You survived starting!
This may sound like hyperbole, but when your brain is going crazy – when your body is wanting homeostasis, starting something new and potentially scary creates turmoil.
It feels like we’re facing death.
So as we pause to take a deep breath, we are acknowledging that we started the thing, and we survived! Yay! 🎉
How to Keep Going
And then next …
Well go watch the momentum video! 😉
And then, you get to start making progress on your goal! Yes!
So remember – this is how you actually start when you want to take action:
- Set the stage
- Watch the movie
- Take two deep breaths and GO!
OK! Now go practice. And be sure to let me know how it works.
I’m cheering you on!
Resources from this episode:
The Raise Your Hand Say Yes Podcast is on YouTube now! Head over there and subscribe and follow and like this episode and click the notifications button so you get a fancy little alert every time a new episode goes live.
Got questions? Or ideas you would like me to maybe talk about here?
Send me an Instagram DM. Or, you can always find me at tiffanyhan.com.
See you next time!
Tiffany Han [00:00:04]: Hey. Hey, friends. Okay, today's episode is a little bit shorter than usual because I'm giving you something that I want you to get out there into your life and try and I'm giving you something that I want you to. I'm giving you something. I want you to get out there in your life and try. I actually want you to put this to the test and see how it works. Once I explain it, there's not gonna be anything else to say. So if you are sitting down to listen to this or watch this, and you're like, oh, what am I gonna do with the rest of my time? You see? You see the dots are connecting.
Tiffany Han [00:00:42]: Okay, to start, I want you to close your eyes for a moment. I mean, unless you're driving, take a breath and think about what is something that you want to take action on. Now, if this is something big, like write my book, I want you to bring it down until you get to what can you take action on today? What can you take action on today or tomorrow? Right? Within the next 48 hours, think about something you can do. So write my book might become start my book, outline my table of contents, write the introduction, do a chapter outline, brain dump all of my ideas, be more creative, might become journal. One page in my creativity journal. We all have a creativity journal, right? Don't we all have a book that is just, you know, where we put things and ideas to be creative one day, but then you've only actually done it one single day back in July. Don't we all have that? So again, we're going to simmer that down. And what I want to talk about today is how to actually take action.
Tiffany Han [00:01:56]: And I'm not talking about, like, advice on how to take action, which usually consists of what I just told you. Make it doable, make it small, make it something that's easy to start. Be specific. Right? We're talking, like, traditional smart goals. There are a million videos out there on smart goals. There are a million podcasts about smart goals. If you want me to do my version, sure, I'm happy to. But, and this is a different kind of advice.
Tiffany Han [00:02:23]: Today, instead of thinking about all of that generic stuff, I want to talk about what to do in the moment, the moment that it is time to take action, how to actually get yourself to do the thing, how to actually get enough forward momentum to overcome the inertia of just not doing it. Because what we know is that we could continue to not do it forever. Listen, y'all, I spent, like, a year and a half not podcasting and not doing this YouTube channel. And I realized one day that I could just keep not doing it for, like, ever. And honestly, my life would be fine had I done that. Was it the way that I realized that I would be the most proud of myself? No. Was it, like, necessarily in line with my values? No. Was it useful for my business? No.
Tiffany Han [00:03:24]: And I could have just kept sitting there not doing it. So I'm saying all of this to say it's easy to not do something, right? But if you are listening to or interacting with somebody who has a show called raise your hand, say yes. That is because there is something in your life that you want that you currently don't have. It might be a thing. It might be a goal. It might be a house. It might be travel. It might be a certain lifestyle.
Tiffany Han [00:03:51]: It might also be just a feeling of inner peace and calm, of going to bed at night and feeling like you lived your life well, you used up your life force today and excited to wake up again tomorrow and start again. So here is what I want you to practice when it's time to take action. Number one, create an environment where action becomes easy. So you want to outline that book. Great. Open up the dock. Open up the document on your computer. Gather up your notes.
Tiffany Han [00:04:27]: If you want to be more creative, get your watercolors out and a spray bottle. Set them out, y'all. Set them out behind you. Make that easy. Because what we don't realize is getting prepared is actually its own starting action, right? It's like the pre action. It's step negative one, but it's a step. And if we haven't done that step, then we're trying to jump forward, and it's harder. It takes more, more strength, more initial force, more power to overcome that inertia, and then nobody wins.
Tiffany Han [00:05:04]: So, number one, set the stage. Number two, close your eyes and envision yourself taking the action. And then think about, why does it matter? Here's why I want you to do that. Number one, show yourself that movie. In your mind, you're gonna be Michael Phelps out there getting ready to win gold for the 400th time. Right? Why does that matter? Because seeing it is going to help you believe that it's possible. The second reason that we want to do that is it calms you down. It calms down your nervous system, and it allows you to get into that present moment instead of just living up here in your head where your brain is making up all kinds of reasons that you shouldn't start.
Tiffany Han [00:05:54]: And all of these reasons that we don't want to be uncomfortable. And all of these reasons that this should be something that you are afraid of, right? Those alarm bells are going to be going off, going off, going off. So we set the stage. We've watched the movie. Now, what I want you to do, simple, not easy. Take your hand, if possible, connect with your body in that heart center. If you can, take your other hand and connect with your belly. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and start as we think about what you want to do.
Tiffany Han [00:06:33]: There are two deep breaths that are most important. Number one is the one that you take right before you do the thing, right before you take action. Why? Because it centers you. It grounds you in right now. It tells your brain that everything is fine. You are not afraid. You have got this. It allows your nervous system to relax so that you can actually type your fingers or do whatever.
Tiffany Han [00:07:00]: The second. Oh, you said two important breaths. The second one is the one that you take after you've started that next breath. These two breaths are shoehorning in the action. Why is that one important? Because it lets you know that you survived. Is that hyperbole? Sounds like it, but it's not. Because when our fear brain is going crazy, when the body's need for. What's that word where we want everything to stay the same, when our bodies need for everything to just happen easily, we're creating all kinds of turmoil in our brain.
Tiffany Han [00:07:48]: It feels like we are facing death. It just does. It just does. And so recognizing in yourself, getting present and being like, oh, my God, I survived that. I am doing it. Yeah, that's really, really important and really worth celebrating. And then keep going. Go watch the momentum video next if you want to know how to keep going.
Tiffany Han [00:08:13]: Ha. Keep going. And from there, you get to start making progress. Do y'all see what we're talking about here? Set the stage, watch a movie. First deep breath. Second deep breath. Go. Let me know what you think.
Tiffany Han [00:08:31]: Let me know if it works. Let me know what else is. Ah, it's showing up in your head. I would love to know. Yeah, well, I love you, and you're amazing, and I'll see you soon.
