Nothing ever happens without a decision. The decision is the catalyst. But it’s a bit like the difference between a passive sentence and an active sentence. One has the idea but the other has the action required to make it come alive. It’s a case of getting rid of the verbiage and concentrating on the verb—the small but mighty part where the ‘to do’ comes in.
I’ve been away from gym for a considerabe time because I chose to let it slide due to work commitments. I had previously made the decision to be the sort of person who exercised at least a certain amount, which is why I started going to the gym for small workouts two years ago. Today, I am making the decision to go back after a time away. Decision or no, it will never happen unless I get my verbs up to speed. Dress. Pack water and gym tag. Leave. Drive to gym. Do what you went there to do. The decision itself is just so much hot air unless I pair a verb—or a number of verbs—with it.
I have noticed that there are two verbs—’doing’ steps—which are more important than all the other steps that go into making this decision active. They’re the ones which are the main sticking points if I let other things get in their way: Getting dressed in appropriate clothes and getting out the door. So for me, they’re the two on which the entire operation rests. Once I’m out the door, the rest of the sequence falls into place without any great effort on my part, because of the momentum which has already been created.
So it’s not just a thought. It’s a number of small steps, of which two are key. The knack is to find, whatever the subject of your decision, which couple of steps are the ones most likely to put you on the path to success.
This is all very simple stuff, but it can help to look at the process if you have trouble with follow-through. Perhaps it’s a case of (to paraphrase George Orwell), all steps are equal, but some are more equal than others.