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The Spark of Action



There is a widespread misconception in our world that motivation leads to action. That’s why so many people are sitting around, waiting to be motivated and inspired to act. Even if it does come, motivation is often short lived and any resulting actions are not sustained for very long. In reality, action is what leads to motivation and inspiration, not the other way around.

Choosing to move forward into the unknown has a tendency to unleash both the creativity and determination necessary to make actions sustainable. The emotion of motivation and the feeling of inspiration are often playing catch up to your actions.

Your brain is designed to keep you alive, not to encourage you to flourish. Left to its devices, it will rarely provide you with much more ambition than is necessary to maintain survival. But if you force yourself into action, your mind has an amazing capacity to support that action with the necessary fuel of motivation and vision of inspiration. However, it won’t happen while idly anticipating epiphanies and break-throughs. In fact, often times the only difference between a breakdown and a break-through is determined and deliberate action.

Even the driest kindling still needs a spark to ignite. Let your intentional actions be that spark. Don’t wait around for your kindling to spontaneously combust.

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