Action Vs. Apathy: Just Get Moving!
How many times have you felt truly defeated by the circumstances in your life? You know, the “I don’t know why I bother to keep trying, I’m going back to bed and staying there” feeling. It happens to everyone – housewives, corporate executives, rock stars, actors, world leaders. Each and every one of us has had a day when we felt that we just weren’t able to cope with our daily lives.
However, some of us have days like this more frequently than others. Some of us even feel that our entire lives are like this. When we begin to feel this way more often than not, there is a problem. What it comes down to is that we feel powerless. That’s where that feeling of defeat and despair comes from. Our subconscious mind is saying, “I just don’t have the power to change things, so I might as well give up”. Powerlessness is not a good feeling, is it?
The truth is, we are never powerless in any situation. It is only our own minds that tell us we are. Sure, there will be circumstances that we truly can’t change. Illness, injury, job loss, broken relationships. Those are life lessons that serve to strengthen us in the long run. But many of us believe we are powerless in every situation, and that is simply not true.
When we feel powerless about one situation in our lives, many of us let that feeling creep into other areas too, until suddenly we find ourselves sitting in the middle of chaos and disorder. Our inner chaos reflects in our outer circumstances. We stop taking pride in our appearance and dress more sloppily. Or we let the housework go because we just don’t seem to have the energy to keep up with it. Or we give up searching for a new job because we’re just not finding what we’re looking for. Or we slide into poor eating habits and slack on our workout routine. We just don’t feel like putting forth the effort anymore. We have given up hope and accepted our powerlessness.
A great way to shatter that feeling of powerlessness is to get moving. Okay, so maybe we can’t control every little aspect of our lives. We can control most of them. If you are feeling powerless about your job situation, make a conscious decision to take control of the other areas of your life. Stick to your workout routine, clean up your house, wash your car, organize your office, clean and organize your kitchen cabinets. Often, just taking any action will release us from our “deer in the headlights” mindset and help us to solve the very problems that are making us feel so powerless.
Another thing I like to do is something I call, “Massive Foward Action”. Very simply, it means putting forth a massive amount of energy and effort in a specific direction. Let’s use the job example again. If you are unemployed and feeling powerless about it, put forth some massive forward action. Apply for every single job you are even remotely qualified for. Don’t worry about whether you’d like the job or not, or whether you’d like to do this job for the rest of your life. Right now you just need “a” job. Worry about the details later. Call everyone you know and ask if there are open positions where they work, or if they know of any open positions elsewhere. Visit the temporary employment agencies in your area, and put in applications with them. Browse the major employment websites on the internet, and apply for any jobs in your area. Drive around your area and look for Help Wanted signs. If you see one, stop to inquire about the job. You never know if it’s something you can do.
Spend an entire day doing this, or more. Do it every single day until you get a job. In my own experience, it won’t take long for something positive to happen. Okay, so maybe the job you get won’t be exactly what you were looking for. But at least your financial worries will be over for the moment and you can then begin looking for a job you really want. Or go back to school in the evenings so you can further qualify for a better job later. Or start your own business part-time. The only limits are those you impose upon yourself.
No matter what you are feeling powerless about, it can help to simply create a plan of action. When we feel powerless, we often feel like we are trapped in a box with no way out. There seem to be dead-ends every way we turn. If we can sit down and create a plan with step by step actions we can take right now, guess what happens? We realize that we’re not powerless. The most empowering thing you can do is to get moving. Don’t just sit there and accept what life hands you. Get up, get out and create the life you deserve!