Direct and Indirect Action

How much time do you spend waiting? Waiting for your ride. Waiting for your class to start. Waiting for a delivery. Waiting for a phone call. Waiting for a specific date. Waiting to heal. Waiting to train. Waiting for things to get back to normal. Waiting.

Waiting is a big, unnecessary threat to motivation. We all have experienced it. One day I can’t wait for the next class, another day I can’t drag my sorry butt off the couch to get to class. Motivation is time sensitive, it has a an expiration date. Of course we have no way of predicting what that expiration date is so it is super important that we make some good use out of motivation while it is still available. We must stop waiting.

To be clear here, ‘waiting’ is not the same as ‘procrastination’. Procrastination is about as far away from mastery as one can get. If you are procrastinating, motivation left the building a long time ago. Procrastination occurs in a negative motivational cycle where it is fueled by excuses. Waiting occurs on a positive motivational cycle where, if left unchecked, it becomes the catalyst that flips you from a positive motivational cycle to a negative motivational cycle.

To avoid playing the waiting game, a major portion of your training has to be devoted to taking indirect action. I can’t always do what I need to do to for a multitude of reasons but that should not prevent me from continuing to take action that supports the intent of my training.

• Direct Action — spending an hour on the heavy bag.

• Indirect Action — spending an hour reading a book that inspires me to work out on the heavy bag.

There are always indirect action alternatives to waiting.

When you are motivated, take direct action. When you can’t take direct action, take indirect action.

Motivation is not beyond your control.

Jeff Brinker