Massive Action – A Solution for the Unorganised?

Have you ever tried to go on a diet, learn a new instrument, learn a language, create a website etc… and found that despite having loads of passion and focus early on, you quickly seemed to lose interest and discipline, eventually resulting in you not really getting anywhere?

Hi, my name is Dean Hunt and the above has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I have tried numerous techniques to keep me more disciplined, organised and consistent… but the time has come (with a little help from a leading ADD/ADHD doctor and some personality profiling exams), where I realise that I need to stop pissing into the wind.

In other words… I need to stop using my energy to fight my weaknesses, and instead, outsource them, or focus on my strengths.

I mean, you can give me all the self-discipline techniques in the world, but at the end of the day, my brain is wired that way, there is a good chance there is a chemical imbalance as well… so there will only be one winner.

So how do I combat this?

Recently, I think I found the solution… whilst, in the meantime, nearly half-killing myself.

Problem: I sit on my ass all day due to my job, I don’t eat healthily, and I am becoming out of shape.

Solution: Exercise and/or a better diet.

I decided to focus on exercise for now… mainly because I love my Chinese fried rice and chicken.

So here is what a normal person would do:

30-45 minutes of exercise each day, a min of 5 days per week.

That isn’t gonna happen with me… by day 3 I will be bored and will have stopped doing it.

Here is what I did

I went on a 5 and a half hour hike. (17 miles)

Massive action baby!

My theory is that I should take one piece of massive action whilst I have the enthusiasm, as opposed to spreading it out in a bit-by-bit disciplined manner.

Don’t get me wrong, I am well aware that 5 sets of one hour walks would be better for me than one 5+ hour hike, but hey, I have accepted myself, and am working around my strengths, not my weaknesses.

If you are the sort of person who can stick to their goals for months and years with uber-discipline, then I respect that, and there is probably no need to read this post… but for everyone else, keep reading:

So, I completed the hike, and was physically exhausted, and very cold, but now, 3 days later, I feel better for it.

You see, 5+ hours of walking is a challenge, it is extreme, and the extreme nature of it turned it from a boring walk, to a fun challenge.

How else could this be applied?

Well, let’s say I have a fear of heights… I could jump out of a plane three times in one afternoon.

Or, jump out of a plane in the morning, and go bungee jumping in the afternoon.

If I want to learn an instrument… perhaps block-hire an instructor and do an entire weekend of training.

Want to get fit?

Climb a mountain for charity… or join me as we cycle through India.

By making the task as extreme as possible, you make it more fun and appealing. Heck, I am not that competitive, but during the 330 minute hike, there was no way I was going to give in, even when I could hardly walk.

You can make it extreme by magnifying one aspect of it…

Time: How long can you do your task for? Can you do it all night? Can you do it for an entire day?

Challenge: How much of a challenge can you make it? e.g jump out of a plane, learn a language by going for a weekend break in a place where they don’t speak English.

Forfeit: If you don’t complete your massive action, what happens? Why not donate some cash to charity, or stand in the middle of the road wearing a pink thong.

Accountability: Tell as many people as possible what you are going to do, make sure that you will feel shame if you let them down. Nothing drives most of us more than what other people may think of us.

I learned to become a better public speaker, not my going to Toastmasters or practicing infront of a mirror… I did it by agreeing to speak at the largest marketing event on the planet.

I tried to learn Spanish from cds and books, and soon gave up… but I learned the language when I moved to Spain with no money and no job.

We all get excited about ideas, whether it be a new diet, creating a business, learning a new skill, doing a challenge etc… and we are always told to do it bit-by-bit, be consistent, think it over first etc….

I say screw that! Just take massive action right now, take the action when you are at your peak of interest/excitement… and by the time your interest has worn off, you will have already achieved something special.

So what can you take massive action on this week?

Dean