Self Reflection Byte - Ready.. set.. Action!!
Table of Contents
- Action!!
- The Why / Intention
- The Action / Specific Steps
- Check Feedback & Iterate
- Summary
Action!!
So, we all want to live our lives, fulfill our dreams & get things done.
What will take us from where we are (Point A) to where we want to be (Point B) ? Action.

But, what is action?
We all know what action means - We hear this all the time. Our parents used to tell us "Why don't you get up and do something?" or something similar like the below :







Nothing gets done unless we take action. It is THE key to move from where we are to where we want to be , keep things moving & getting things done. But then just taking action does not help. Our actions have to be smart. What does it mean?
Smart action helps us move from Point A to Point B in the most efficient way. Let us explore our journey from point A to Point B with the below sequence :
- WHY do we need to take action? - The Intention
- WHAT specific steps do we need to take to move closer to the objective?- The Action
- WHAT if we need to change or modify our path ? - Feedback & Iterate mechanism
The Why / Intention
We have to ask - "Why do we want to do something? What is the intention?"
Action with intention is the key to achieving great things. Why? Because we are clear on the end objective & because of that, our actions will be more focussed & effective.
I can think of two scenarios :
- We face a problem & our intention is to solve it
- We want to explore a new dimension & our intention is understand it
Problem Solving
When we face a problem, what is the first thing we do? - Try to find a solution for it. We attempt to solve the problem.
Now, we can either solve the problem on our own if we already know about it by having faced it earlier. We think about it from all angles - first & second order effects and then try to find a way around it or through it.
But what if we don't have any experience solving the issue as we have never faced it before. Then we either understand the issue by
- learning about it from various sources or
- talking & getting help from someone who has experience solving similar problems.
Each & every step we take towards a solution is an action.
After we find the root cause of the issue, we work to solve the issue - through - ACTION!!
Exploration
When we want to explore a new dimension, there is only one way to do it - walk into the unknown. The environment is unknown & uncertain. We have no idea what we are walking into. But sometimes that is the only direction we can take. Unless we take action, we cannot see what is ahead of us. Nike's logo is apt in this scenario - "Just Do It". We have to take it one step at a time.
For e.g., - if we want to be a writer, take a pen & paper and start writing. If we want to learn a new topic, take a course & start learning by doing projects. It requires action. But before taking the piece of paper or doing projects, we have to know WHY we want to write or learn?
- Are we passionate about it or
- Is it to share our knowledge & provide valuable insights or
- Is it to get the story out of our head & write a book?
- Do we intend to work in the area of interest?
Understanding why we want to do something gives perspective & context to our action. It eliminates wasteful efforts & helps us focus on what actions to take.
It is through action that we convert dreams to reality.
The Action / Specific Steps
Once we identified the WHY of a problem or decided to take the leap to explore something new, what next?
We take the necessary steps to achieve our objective. We write them down to see if it makes sense.
Just like boiling water converts liquid state to gas state, writing converts thoughts in our mind to letters & words in paper giving it life.
Let us take a scenario - we want to run a marathon
It is not enough to just wish for it. There are specific steps to be taken if we want to run a marathon. We write down the steps (sample) as below:
- Daily training to increase fitness & running threshold
- Right nutrition
- Mental preparation etc
These are actions taken with intention. It gives focus & helps achieve our objective in the most efficient way.
But once we move forward with the steps that we wrote down, what if something needs to change or it doesn't work?
Check Feedback & Iterate
As we work on our points, we find that something is wrong or not meeting our expectations. In such scenario, we have to change course or plan. What we are seeing is the feedback on our action.
It is important to see what feedback we are getting & change accordingly or iterate. This means the action steps that need to be taken are not written in stone, we have to change course depending on the feedback that we get.
I can give a personal example of this - During my CA course, as most of the students do, I failed multiple attempts. I used to get the lowest marks in Law. My weak point was theory subjects. I loved "number" topics like accounting or Financial Management etc so I studied that harder. The failure in my exam attempts was the feedback I was getting that something I was doing was not right.
After identifying the weak point, which was Law, I changed my approach to learning theory topics. Instead of only reading the topic, I took some coaching classes, changed my study habits by taking notes (which I didn't before). That helped to gain better marks in the next attempt.
Same goes for anything that we set out to do. Look for feedback & iterate.
Doing this also imprints the concepts in our mind. For example, we can read books or watch Youtube videos on excel modelling. But unless we actually create models under different scenarios & try to learn from mistakes, we will never be able to internalize the concepts. Most concepts can be learnt only by doing & iterating based on feedback.
What if we don't have time some days due to extra work or kids or some commitment comes up? Do what can be done even if it takes five minutes. For example -
- If your action is exercise, do one rep of any exercise
- If your action is writing, write one page or one word
But do the action even if it is just one unit of it. That counts & compounds over period of time and helps keep us consistent in our action & on path to achieving our goals.
Summary
So to achieve what we wish for in life,
- Understand what you want to do & the intention behind it (the WHY)
- Write down the course of action to be clear on the steps to be taken
- Chcck feedback & iterate.
- Be consistent even if it takes a minute to do it
Take that first step.... that is the key to achieving your goals