Step Four: Act

Our daily and life-long objective is progress, not perfection.  This holds true with reference to every aspect of life: the material, emotional, spiritual, social, personal, or organizational.  These are the six steps for consistent progress: Release, Reflect, Envision, Act, Evaluate, Reconcile.

A few thoughts on Step Four: Act–

The biggest difference between those who realize their dreams and those who don’t is this: successful people take action!  We can have an incredible vision for the future and live our entire lives without experiencing the fulfillment of even the smallest aspect of our vision if we don’t act.

If a vision is worth embracing, it should be broad in scope and impact.  Such a vision is not going to be realized in one fell swoop.  We slowly move from where we are (our alpha point) to where we want to be (our omega point.)  Each small step is revealed through a process commonly called “crystallization.”  When we take an all-encompassing vision and break it down into manageable goals, then identify tasks that need to be accomplished to reach each goal, the necessary steps for consistent progress become “crystal clear.”

Most of us don’t take consistent action to realize our goals, because we don’t know where to start.  When we have broken down our vision to measurable goals, then broken those goals down to ordered tasks, the next indicated step is easy to identify.  We need only develop a system, electronic or document-based, for ordering tasks and tracking their accomplishment.  In a glance, we can identify the next step we need take to progress toward the fulfillment of our vision, though most of those steps, when viewed separately, may seem unrelated to our larger goals, let alone our overall vision.  We can trust that accomplishing the task at hand moves us closer to our vision’s fulfillment because the task was crystallized from our vision in the first place.

Don’t have a vision?  Go back to Step Three: Envision.  Flesh out your vision now!  If you don’t know where you’re going, it really doesn’t matter what steps you take today.

If you have envisioned your desired destination, you have reached the point where you need to work backwards and crystallize goals from that vision.  There are many resources for goal-setting on the internet and in every book store.  It is not nearly as important what goal-setting process you engage, only that you act now and set goals!

If you’ve set goals, break those goals down into manageable tasks now.  First, identify those tasks upon which other tasks are dependent.  These are your top priority tasks, since the other tasks cannot be addressed until these are accomplished.  Then when no dependencies remain, order the remaining tasks by relative importance.  Schedule the most important task first, then work your way down the list to the least important.  Don’t create tasks that require multiple or convoluted steps.  Every task should be possible to accomplish in one place over one period of time.

“Build a dog house,” is not a task, it is a goal, consisting of many smaller tasks, such as, “choose doghouse design,” “buy doghouse supplies,” and “construct doghouse.”  Having a vision is great–it means you know your destination.  Having goals is even better–they mean you know the route to where you want to go.  Having clear, concise tasks related to your goals is best–they assure you will travel your route by giving you actionable steps you can take everyday.

Today, I will take action!  If I am uncertain where I am going, I will develop a vision for my life.  If I have a clear vision, I will set measureable goals whose accomplishment will, when taken together, fulfill my vision.  If I have set goals about which I am passionate and committed, I will break my goals down into actionable tasks.  Each day, I will re-evaluate and prioritize my tasks, so I can consistently progress toward fulfilling my vision by taking the next indicated step.