The longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater odds that you will never actually do it.”
John C Maxwell
Excerpts from an article by Jim Rohn adapted by Darlene Sartore
• Engaging in genuine discipline to achieve desired results requires developing the ability to take appropriate action, but do not waste too much time either because it’s easy for the Law of Diminishing Intent to make sure the action doesn’t get done.
• Let's say you would like to build your library. Take action as soon as possible, before the feeling passes and before the idea dims. If you don't, you fall prey to the law of diminishing intent.
• We intend to take action when the idea strikes us. We intend to do something when the emotion is high. But if we don't translate that intention into action fairly soon, the urgency starts to diminish.
• So take action. Set up a discipline when the emotions are high and the idea is strong, clear, and powerful.
• Discipline enables you to capture the emotion and the wisdom and translate them into action. The key is to increase your motivation by quickly setting up the disciplines. By doing so, you've started a whole new life process.
• There is a problem with even a little bit of neglect. Neglect starts as an infection. If you don't take care of it, it becomes a disease.
• Start with the smallest discipline that corresponds to your own philosophy. Make the commitment and declaration: "I discipline myself to achieve my goals so that in the years ahead I can celebrate my successes."
The 4 steps to overcoming the Law of Diminishing Intent by John Maxwell
1. Start Today. The law says you have a 48 hour window of opportunity to act. And if you don’t, you will often derail your idea and miss your chance.
2. Stop Listening to the Gremlin Voice. Stop listening to the voice in your head telling you NO, and reminding you of the times you tried in the past and failed.
3. Sync with Your Emotions. The clearer you can get your idea and what it will look like once it’s achieved, the stronger your emotions are tied to it.
4. Seek Help. Tell others what you’re doing and why. Have an accountability partner, hire a coach.
Additional Reading
Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now by Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen
Point of Reflection
“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone”
Pablo Picasso