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What does that mean? “Being in motion” vs “taking action” sound similar but they are not the same according to Atomic Habits by James Clear.
When you’re in motion, it pertains to planning, strategizing and learning. These are all good but they don’t produce the results. It’s the action that delivers the outcome.
For example, if you brainstorm for possible topics for an article, that’s motion. If you write an article, that’s action.
If you research about healthy meals and recipes, that’s motion. If you eat a healthy meal, that’s action.
If you analyze data from a campaign, that’s motion. If you optimize a campaign, that’s action.
If you talk and listen to a mentor and reflect about the advice, that’s motion. If you apply the learnings from your mentor in real life situations, that’s action.
Being in motion is generally good but as Clear points out, it will never produce an outcome by itself. Why? Because it doesn’t matter how many times you consult a mentor, this motion will never improve your performance if you never apply any of the learnings from your mentor. It doesn’t matter how many times you talk to a gym trainor, that motion will never get you into shape until you actually do the exercises or eat the diet the trainor recommended.
Thus, there is some danger on being in motion as it can lead us to procrastination because being in motion can make us believe that we’re making progress and that we’re getting things done but in reality, we’re just “preparing” to get something done.
I’ve never thought about it this way but it does makes sense. For most of the things we said we’re going to do and we never get around doing, maybe we’re stuck in the motion phase and fool ourselves into believing that we’re actually doing something but in reality, everything we’ve been doing is just being in motion and preparation. Tsk...tsk... It's time to review and reflect. 😬
If you research about healthy meals and recipes, that’s motion. If you eat a healthy meal, that’s action.
If you analyze data from a campaign, that’s motion. If you optimize a campaign, that’s action.
If you talk and listen to a mentor and reflect about the advice, that’s motion. If you apply the learnings from your mentor in real life situations, that’s action.
Being in motion is generally good but as Clear points out, it will never produce an outcome by itself. Why? Because it doesn’t matter how many times you consult a mentor, this motion will never improve your performance if you never apply any of the learnings from your mentor. It doesn’t matter how many times you talk to a gym trainor, that motion will never get you into shape until you actually do the exercises or eat the diet the trainor recommended.
Thus, there is some danger on being in motion as it can lead us to procrastination because being in motion can make us believe that we’re making progress and that we’re getting things done but in reality, we’re just “preparing” to get something done.
I’ve never thought about it this way but it does makes sense. For most of the things we said we’re going to do and we never get around doing, maybe we’re stuck in the motion phase and fool ourselves into believing that we’re actually doing something but in reality, everything we’ve been doing is just being in motion and preparation. Tsk...tsk... It's time to review and reflect. 😬
