Motivation - Taking Action

MOTIVATION –  Taking Action?


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – May 2012

Todays’ quote comes from Al Batt who says “It is easy to sit up and take notice.  What is difficult is getting up and taking action.”

I must admit I did have a quiet chuckle about this one.  I guess I have watched too many movies where the wife yells at the husband at every possible opportunity “You never take any notice of me or what I am saying!”  Honestly speaking, not only is he not taking notice, he is also not doing anything about the problem either and the more she continues to shout and scream, the less likely he is to pay any attention or take any action.

For me, just like it’s not having the knowledge that makes me powerful, it is what I do with that knowledge that makes me powerful – taking notice without putting the action into play is just a complete waste of time!

To be quite honest I am completely at a loss with people who are inactive.  I think in the grand scheme of things, many people do not understand that there are also consequences for inaction.  Most people understand (although they may not accept) that there are consequences for your actions, but few understand that there are also consequences for inaction – it’s the whole “but how can you hold me accountable – I did nothing!”  The fact that your doing nothing resulted in the consequences is, for some reason, more difficult for some people to wrap their heads around.

Here’s an example – you’re driving from Johannesburg to Cape Town – you see the petrol gauge moving from “F” to “E” slowly but surely.  You continue on your journey going through one town after another – passing one petrol garage after another, but not stopping to fill up.  Clearly the consequence of that behavior is that eventually the car will run out of petrol and you will come to a standstill.  You have done nothing and there is a consequence.  This is a consequence of your non-action. Conversely, you have stopped at the garage to fill up with fuel, but the petrol attendant filled up with diesel instead of petrol – now that is a consequence of an action that took place.

Many folk seem to float through life without committing to anything – people who
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za