Are You Waiting for Your Mood to Change?

Most of us wait for the feeling or mood 
to motivate our action.

We demand that we feel a certain way
(e.g., comfortable, motivated, passionate)
before we act.

This is one approach to living our life.
It is very nice to enjoy the feeling or mood first
that makes the action flow very easily and naturally.
But this approach, by itself, has severe limitations.

Often, "feeling a certain way"
will not occur before the action.
The action must be taken first;
then the feeling will likely follow.

In large measure, we do not have direct control
over our feelings and moods.
To always practice the feelings-before-action approach
leaves us at the whim of our feelings and moods,
leaves at the mercy of their vicissitudes.

In general, we do have direct control and choice over our actions.
Consequently, we can get the results we want
and we can usually stimulate
the desired feelings and moods that will occur
after we have made our choice (most often, a choice of courage)
and taken the action.

Think of a recent time when you were "waiting for the feeling,"
yet you could have chosen to take the action first.
What might have happened if you had chosen to act first?

Look for an opportunity today
to choose the action before the feeling.

?

Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not.
- William James (1842-1910, American psychologist, author)

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