How to Trick Yourself Into Doing Things You Hate

For many people, inertia, laziness, fear, procrastination, self-doubt, endless debating and analyzing, second-guessing, “planning,” and self-sabotage are the default. But for those with an action bias, taking a step forward is the thing that happens automatically, to the extent that it takes effort not to act.

taking action is such a good idea and so easy to do, then why don’t we do it more often?

There are many answers to this question, but most of it comes down to anxiety. We feel like we don’t yet know enough to act, we’re afraid of the outcome, or we’re worried there’s a risk we haven’t prepared for. We feel we don’t have enough authority or clarity or ability to act.

Do something small now, see where it lands you

We no longer see action as some final outcome of a process, but rather the necessary first step of every process.

Get Out of Your Head

One good trick is to literally count down to five, and when you get to one, act. Immediately. Don’t overthink it, don’t explain stuff to yourself, and don’t give yourself a chance to come up with convoluted excuses. Just do the thing.

your own life right now, think of the task you are procrastinating and try to identify the nature of the anxiety behind it. Take note of the excuses you make for why you can’t act—they’ll give you a clue about your current mindset. Once you’ve identified

consistently choose action over anything else. Not plan to take action, not think about future action, and not prepare for action . . . but simply act

It’s recommended that you keep a journal or notebook to jot down ideas as you proceed through each section. Not every concept will resonate with you, but a willingness to keep an open mind with new and unfamiliar concepts will guarantee that you learn something, one way or another.

you need is the willingness to learn, a little time every day to read and try out something new, and the hopeful expectation that with effort, you can change, no matter where you’re starting from.

Before reading on, however, your first task is to identify that thing in your life right now that consciously or unconsciously inspired you to pick up this book—maybe you already know what this thing is!