Concept
Do Something Principle
The do something principle holds that motivation usually follows action rather than causing it, so taking even a small step while you are stuck produces the inspiration and motivation you need to keep going.
Most of us run on an unspoken sequence: first inspiration, then motivation, then action. In The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson argues that this chain is really a loop, and you can enter it from the action end. Doing even something trivial produces a result and some feedback. That feedback sparks inspiration, and inspiration feeds the motivation to do more. Waiting for the feeling first becomes a polite reason not to start, and the longer you wait, the bigger the task grows in your head. The principle doesn't promise that the first step will be good. It only asks that the step be real and small enough that resistance can't argue with it. There is a quieter benefit too: failure stops being decisive, because any action, even a clumsy one, tells you what to try next.
A real-life example
Leila has avoided the literature review for her thesis for three weeks, telling herself she'll start when she feels ready. One evening she sets a much narrower goal: open the file and fix the title of section two. Rewording the title makes her notice a weak argument. She rewrites one paragraph, then another. Forty minutes later she has two pages. Her mood didn't change before she started. It changed because she started.
How to use it
- 1Shrink the task until the first step feels almost silly: open the document, write one sentence, or put on your running shoes. If you still resist, make the step smaller.
- 2Start before you check how you feel, and give yourself permission to stop after that one step. Most of the time you won't want to stop.
- 3The next time you're stuck, ask "What's the smallest thing I can do right now?" instead of "How do I get motivated?" Treat whatever comes out of it as information for your next move.