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

In other words, they have figured out that erring on the side of action almost always brings greatest rewards.

In this section: Understanding what a “bias for action” is, why it’s important, and how you can develop it.

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

the necessity of cultivating whatever attitude we need to in order to consistently choose action over anything else.

asking yourself about all the many reasons you can’t or shouldn’t act, focus instead on asking: What thing can I do right now? Counter-intuitively, this is often the lowest pressure, least anxiety-provoking state to be in.

The theme we will keep returning to is the necessity of cultivating whatever attitude we need to in order to consistently choose action over anything else. Not plan to take action, not think about future action, and not prepare for action . . . but simply act.

with effort, you can change, no matter where you’re starting from.