How to Start Taking Action When It’s Hard

Ever found yourself staring at a daunting goal—like starting a new diet, tackling a big project at work, or decluttering your home—and simply not knowing where to start?

You’re not alone. In fact, a study by the University of Scranton reveals that 92% of people who set New Year’s resolutions fail to achieve them. This staggering statistic is a comfort in itself: your struggle is a common one.

Stick with me as I show you how to start taking action, even when it feels tough.

The Meaning of Taking Action

Lots of people mix up taking action with being busy. They think that doing lots of stuff means they are taking action. But that’s not really true.

Being busy is like being in motion. You feel productive because your wheels are spinning. But you’re not really getting anywhere meaningful. You’re basically on autopilot. Taking action is different. Action means you’ve made concrete progress towards a goal. You’ve moved the needle and gotten real results.

For example, let’s say you have a goal to get healthy and lose some weight. Joining a gym and buying some new workout clothes is being in motion. It feels good to do those things, but they don’t really count as action or progress yet.

Now, if you actually wake up early and hit the treadmill 3 days this week? That’s taking action. It’s doing the real work that builds better fitness habits and gets you closer to your health goals.

Action versus Motion

Here’s another example…

Let’s say you have a dream of building an online business. Buying a nice laptop and reading some business books is motion. It seems productive, but it’s not actual progress.
On the other hand, if you spend 5 hours researching products and writing your first online course? That’s real action towards your entrepreneurship dream.

The point is that action requires some concrete output that moves you positively closer to the results you want. Motion just keeps you busy without getting you anywhere meaningful.

So if you feel stuck or frustrated with a goal, check whether you’re confusing motion with action. Ask yourself – am I just being busy? Or am I actually moving my goals forward with focused effort that creates real progress?

The truth is, very few big dreams are achieved through massive bursts of action all at once. Lasting success happens gradually through consistent actions over time – even if they are small ones.

But those small actions do count. And they count way more than all the busy “motion” in the world.

Why is Taking Action So Hard?

If taking action brings results, then why do so many people struggle to make it happen?
The truth is that meaningful action pushes us outside our comfort zones. It requires focusing our time and energy deliberately. This is difficult for several key reasons:

1. We’re Not Ready to Invest

Taking meaningful action is hard. It asks more of us—more time, more energy, more commitment. Often, we default to what feels good instead of what’s good for us.^[1] This trap of comfort makes it too easy to delay real action.

But just like working out, the effort of taking action stretches us, grows us. When we dodge the hard stuff, we dodge the growth that comes with it. So, pushing past the need to feel good all the time is how we truly move forward.

2. Unclear Intentions

Often, we think we want something but don’t truly understand why. This makes it tough to commit to the effort real action demands.

Take the goal of getting in shape. It’s a common ambition, but often just a vague notion—like saying, “I want to be healthier.” Without digging deeper, why would you choose a salad when pizza is calling your name? Understanding why you want to get in shape is crucial. Is it to feel more energetic? To be able to play with your kids without getting winded? To run a marathon?

When you connect your goal to a personal, meaningful reason, suddenly, the choice isn’t just between salad and pizza—it’s a step towards a larger, deeply personal aspiration. This clarity fuels the commitment needed to stick with those choices, even when they’re hard.

3. Lack of Sustainable Systems

Initial enthusiasm, like that for New Year’s resolutions, often fades without systems to maintain it. For example, if you aim to lose 30 pounds, without tracking your progress, it’s hard to see the effectiveness of each small action, making efforts feel pointless.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” – James Clear, Atomic Habits

This emphasizes the need for sustainable structures to keep productivity up even when motivation wanes.

Focusing just on outcomes can make goals a binary of success or failure, often leading to disappointment. By prioritizing systems and celebrating incremental progress, you remove the pressure of outcomes and enjoy the process itself.

Using tools like calorie tracking apps, weekly weigh-ins, or fitness logs helps illustrate the direct impact of your daily choices on your progress, enhancing motivation with each small win.

Ultimately, clear intentions, visible tracking, embracing discomfort, and robust systems transform mere motion into sustained momentum towards your dreams.

Remember, action is uncomfortable, but there are proven frameworks to convert this difficulty into results. Let’s explore them…

4 Key Steps to Taking Action

Taking action is like building a house on solid rock instead of shaky sand. The foundation needs to be poured first before you start hammering those walls up. Without a stable base, even the most enthusiastic efforts usually crumble when storms hit. We’re laying that rock-solid foundation together right now.

I’ll walk you through the 4 key steps to not only take action effectively but also sustain momentum over time.

If you’ve struggled to stick to goals before, these steps aim your focus rifle at what truly makes the difference. They establish the structure for actions to build steadily rather than getting washed away next tide.

Think of each step handing you another sturdy brick. Stack them together as we move forward, cementing your dreams’ foundation block by block.

Step 1: Find Your True Intention — What’s Your North Star?

Lots of goals sound great when we speak them, but fail to launch in reality. Often, that’s because our intention behind the goal isn’t clear enough.

To clarify your intentions, consider these five reflective questions:

1. What emotional outcomes do you seek from this goal? Get specific. If your goal is getting fit, is it to feel confident, reduce stress, or enjoy nature more?
2. How does this align with your core values? We stick to what matters to us. If your goal is to become an artist, does this reflect your values of creativity and self-expression?
3. How will achieving this change your identity? Goals often reshape our self-perception. If completing a marathon makes you see yourself as an athlete, that new identity can drive you forward.
4. What greater purpose does this serve beyond yourself? Goals tied to helping others or leaving a legacy provide strong motivation. If building a company supports nurturing employees, this purpose can sustain you through tough times.
5. If you achieved this goal five years ago, what opportunities would you have today? This question helps you see your goal as a stepping stone to long-term opportunities, increasing your motivation.

Understanding the deep ‘Why’ behind your goals sharpens focus and enhances perseverance, like seeing the peak of a mountain after being lost in fog.

Step 2: Define Milestones That Actually Move You Forward

With clear intentions set, we need milestones to guide focus and track progress—real markers of advancement, not just signs of being busy. These are like the stone markers on old roads showing the distance to the next town, helping travelers gauge their journey.

Here’s how to set effective milestones:

1. Clarity of Task and Method: Specify exactly what needs to be accomplished and how. Vague goals lead to vague results.
2. Specific and Achievable: Milestones should be realistic and quantifiable, like “Write 1000 words of my book draft by Friday.” This makes progress measurable and boosts confidence.
3. Focused on One Target: Concentrate on one measurable outcome. Multitasking spreads your focus too thin and slows you down.

Milestones turn intention into measurable momentum. Let’s see how this works in practice:

Learning a New Skill

• Intention: Stay competitive at work by learning digital marketing
• Milestone: Complete the first module of the online Digital Marketing Fundamentals course by Saturday night.

Improving Fitness

• Intention: Boost energy levels to better handle work stress
• Milestone: Walk or jog 2 miles after dinner with my spouse 3 days this week.

Strengthening Relationships

• Intention: Invest more quality time with my kids before they leave the nest
• Milestone: Have a 30 minute one-on-one chat while playing board games with each child by Friday night.

The key is to make milestones specific, measurable and focused. They track tangible progress made rather than just ticking boxes.

Step 3: Build Momentum With Small Wins

Facing a daunting goal can be overwhelming if we fixate on the summit rather than the climb.

I’ve discovered that building sustainable momentum—linking small wins together—is more effective than relying on bursts of willpower.

Think about learning to ride a bike. You didn’t start by racing up hills. Instead, each tentative pedal forward built your skills and confidence gradually. Before you knew it, you were cruising effortlessly.

This approach applies to any goal. Momentum transforms effort into a smoother, almost automatic process. It’s easier to start biking up a hill if you’re already moving than from a standstill.

Start Small

Tackling complex goals right away can lead to demotivation. Begin with manageable steps to accumulate victories. Each small win boosts your capability and makes the next step more attainable.

Celebrate these mini milestones—they’re the nourishment your confidence needs to grow. Soon, you’ll find yourself at new heights, looking back at the path you’ve conquered.

Step 4: Turn Actions Into Auto-Pilot Progress Routines

Kicking off something new feels exciting. But after a while, keeping intentions going requires ongoing effort. What if you could make progress more automatic?

That’s the idea behind progress routines – transforming goals into maintainable habits fitting smoothly into your life.

The Time Flow System makes this work through 3 connected pieces:

1. North Stars

These are your big, life-changing dreams. Keep them present to stay on track. See them as guiding lights remaining steady in the distance. For example, career targets, health goals, family plans.

2. Initiatives

Break North Stars down into measurable milestones. These are engines driving toward targets through projects and plans. They evolve adaptively while moving closer to North Stars.

3. Focus Blocks

Finally, turn milestones into actions repeated routinely. Think 30 focused minutes daily to finish writing a book this year. Repeat blocks sustain momentum.

Assembling Your Routines

Together, the layers automatically move you forward:

1. Match actions to milestones fulfilling Goal Stars
2. Estimate reasonable daily/weekly time
3. Schedule blocks into your existing flow
4. Set reminders to help stick to routines

Soon your goals start running on auto-pilot. Small consistent steps compound into big dreams.

Bonus Tips to Get You Going

You’ve likely heard the mantra “work smarter, not harder.” But what does that really mean?

About 20% of our actions account for 80% of our progress. Identifying these key tasks isn’t easy, but mental models can help. These are simple frameworks that guide us to focus our time and energy on what truly matters. They’re like shortcuts, helping us make better decisions and save effort.

Here are some practical examples:

First Principles Thinking: Break down problems to their core elements. For a parent wanting to bond more with their child, this could mean prioritizing daily quality time over filling the schedule with activities.

Circle of Control: Concentrate on what you can change. For someone seeking a life partner, this means focusing on self-improvement and social skills rather than the elusive search for “the one.”

Diminishing Returns: Recognize when more effort won’t equal more success. For better sleep, once basic habits are established, expensive upgrades often yield little extra benefit.

Energy Over Time: Your mental energy matters more than clock time. Balancing energizing activities with energy drains is crucial. Regular rest and recovery periods are essential to maintain productivity without burnout.

Ultimately, the goal is to invest in the few, impactful actions that advance our life goals. This smart approach ensures steady progress through consistent effort and self-care.

Take Action: You Can Make Your Dreams Real

Going after what you truly want takes more than just wanting it. It means putting together a step-by-step system to turn those big goals into doable actions.

The steps in this article give you the tools to transform inspiring ideas into realities through building the right habits. When you line up small wins day after day, they build the runway to lift off towards destinations you set for yourself.

As repeating focused actions gets more natural, you start reshaping your life’s path automatically. Your goals become self-propelling because your patterns do the work for you.

Pretty soon, you’ve created your future intentionally by design. The question is – how far are you willing to steer yourself? The choice awaits.

Featured photo credit: Joshua Earle via unsplash.com