Getting Yourself to Take Action – Step Two of Tony Robbins’ Ultimate Success Formula

“Nothing happens until something moves.” — Albert Einstein

So now that we know what we want, how do we go about getting it?

By Doing Something!

Yes, I’m a believer in the Law of Attraction – but I also know that the quickest way to get water into my mouth from a glass is to pick up the glass and drink it. (See Simpleology 101, Lesson 1 for more on that concept.)

As a matter of fact, Tony Robbins defines Personal Power as “the ability to take action.”

Writing this article is an example of that – if I hadn’t sat my butt down in the chair in front of the computer and started typing, it never would have come into being (some of you reading this think that would be a good thing…)

But what about all of the stuff that we say we want to do, to have, to be… but we just can’t seem to get ourselves to take action and move toward their fulfillment?

About a billion books could be written on this subject (and have been) – both on why we don’t and how we can.

The Number One Reason People Don’t Take Action

According to Mr. Robbins, the biggest thing that keeps people from taking action is fear.

Fear of success, fear of failure, fear of the unknown…

He further breaks it down into one single fear:

The Fear of Pain

It’s painful to fail. It can be painful to succeed (Mo Money Mo Problems, anyone?). And who knows what goblins and grinches and smarmy smelly things are out there in the unknown.

The Pleasure/Pain Principle

One of Tony’s major ideas is that there are two driving forces in our lives: the avoidance of pain, and the seeking of pleasure. If we ask ourselves just what pain we are avoiding, as well as what pleasure we will get from taking the action, it can go a long way in motivating us to do the thing we fear.

If just being conscious of these things isn’t enough, there are approximately 522 therapies, methods, technologies, and processes out there that could help you – a few that popped off of the top of my are are…

• Tony’s own “Neuro-Associative Conditioning”
• Acupuncture
• EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
• NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
• Motivational Seminars
• GTD (Getting Things Done)
• Personal Coaching
• Hypnosis
• Traditional Therapies
• Visualization
• Just Sacking Up and Pushing Through

Fear is Useful

“I heard FEAR explained this way once: F-Finally E-Exercising A-All my R -Resources {FEAR}.” — MattGeib via Twitter

Many people (I used to be one of them) talk about and think about fear as if it were a bad thing.

Not so!

All of our emotions, whether we call them positive/negative, good/bad, fun/horrifying, have a purpose. And fear is no exception.

If a bus is barreling down on me, or if I get an eviction notice from my landlord, or if I’m told by my wife that she’s going to leave me if I don’t stop drowning myself in alcohol, fear can be quite an excellent motivator to do something.

Personally, I’m learning to love my fear. It tells me that there’s a challenge ahead, and it’s time to get ready for it and do something about it.

In “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude”, Hill and Stone say that fear can also be interpreted as excitement.

How’s that for a reframe:

“I’m not fearful… I’m excited!”

Or just call it fear. Whatever works for you – just use it as a signal, not a stop sign.

But What Actions Should I Take?

I can already hear people out there saying “Oh, sure, just take action. I want to make a million dollars – how about I take the action of watching television all day?”

Remember, this is a formula… a recipe. You can’t just do the first two parts of the recipe and stop.

Well, you could – but I wouldn’t want to eat what you’re cooking.

Coming up Next – Notice Your Results

One last quote from Tony Robbins in closing:

“It’s not what we can do in life that makes the difference. It’s what we will do.”

What will you do today to create your better life?

Similar Posts:

• Tony Robbins’ Ultimate Success Formula – An Introduction
• Not OK with being OK
• Attracted a Tax Levy!
• Taking Inspired Action
• Ruled by Fear