1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,640 Hello Listeners, March 06, 2025. 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:17,640 Welcome to Social Skills Coaching, where you become more likable, charismatic, and productive. 3 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:25,200 Today's episode is from the book titled Take Rapid Action by Patrick King. 4 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:38,440 This practical guide available on Amazon, with an audiobook on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible, will help you turn your thoughts into reality instead of endless avoidance and laziness. 5 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,400 The author's website is bitlyPKConsulting. 6 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:51,320 Take Rapid Action deconstructs the psychology of laziness and why tomorrow always sounds like a better idea. 7 00:00:51,320 --> 00:01:01,000 This book is a shot of motivation, a spark of fire, an understanding of your brain, and a list of techniques to get into motion. 8 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:27,280 Learn how comfortable inaction is sabotaging you, actionable and applicable rules to get started before you feel 100% ready, how to create motion and take the first step from complete stillness, and how to defeat procrastination by bundling. 9 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:44,160 Discover what you think is action but is actually a waste of time in today's episode "Err on the Side of Action" - Get a Little Uncomfortable, Tiny Steps. 10 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:52,080 Stop saying "I'll do it later" and overhaul your mindset for productivity and efficiency with Take Rapid Action. 11 00:01:52,080 --> 00:02:02,320 The link to the book is https://bit.ly/takerapidactionking. 12 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:09,240 One of the (many) problems with a lifetime of not taking action is that your first instinct will be to freeze. 13 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:17,800 You may feel that it’s safer to maintain the status quo instead of making a move, or you may just feel uncomfortable acting without analyzing things to death. 14 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:23,600 Whatever the case, you have found yourself unconsciously erring on the side of inaction. 15 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,720 You may have heard of what’s known as the fight or flight response. 16 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:39,160 This is when we interpret a stimulus in the world to be dangerous, which ratchets up our adrenaline and alertness and readies our bodies to either flee at full speed or engage in a fight to the death. 17 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:45,640 What’s less frequently mentioned is that this response actually has a third component—freezing. 18 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:52,520 For most, this is when the adrenaline rush is so extreme that we are essentially left frozen in shock. 19 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:58,680 For those who have made a habit of avoiding action, this is our default response no matter what happens. 20 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:11,440 It’s easier said than done to break these patterns, but this chapter contains a few ways to err on the side of action and get moving more frequently and consistently. 21 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:16,760 Get a Little Uncomfortable The action you want rarely happens when you’re in your comfort zone. 22 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,120 In fact, that’s probably true with anything you want. 23 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:28,480 It’s not going to come easy, and you will have to endure something uncomfortable, new, and difficult to achieve it. 24 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:35,080 If you are too comfortable with your current job, you won’t feel the need to push your boundaries to seek a promotion or pay raise. 25 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,440 You won’t learn new skills or strive for something better. 26 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:44,200 You figure that good enough is good enough, and so inaction will be your way of living. 27 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:48,160 We call this sort of sloth comfortable inaction. 28 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:56,200 Things may not be ideal, but you’re comfortable enough (or not uncomfortable enough), and thus no action will be taken. 29 00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:00,480 You can think of it as your tolerance for discomfort being higher than average. 30 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:07,880 It’s knowing that you’re slowly gaining weight, but not changing your eating habits because you can still squeeze into your favorite pair of jeans. 31 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:19,040 Or, for instance, it’s understanding that your business’s monthly revenues have been decreasing by 5 percent for five months, but not changing your business model because you’re still paying your bills without a problem. 32 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:31,720 Comfortable inaction can also rear its head in small everyday occurrences like lying in bed, being slightly cold, but not wanting to get out of bed to close your windows. 33 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:40,320 You’d be warmer and more comfortable if you took action, but without it, you feel adequate and like you would be able to fall asleep regardless. 34 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:47,400 Whatever your short-term needs and desires, they are being adequately met, so there is no reason to change your life around. 35 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,120 Initially, comfortable inaction may seem completely harmless. 36 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:56,520 After all, you’ve already found ways to live with the problem or to mentally deal, right? 37 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:01,000 You rationalize to yourself that if something urgent happened, you would be able to spring into action. 38 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:10,600 (But who’s to say that you wouldn’t simply increase your threshold for discomfort and wave off most problems as issues you can just cope with?) 39 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:13,920 What makes comfortable inaction so damaging? 40 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:26,240 Because everything compounds and grows over time, and if you’re not careful, you will unknowingly end up in a situation that is untenable and far past any boundaries you may have set for yourself. 41 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:32,440 This is best exemplified with a frog trapped in a pot of water that is slowly coming to a boil. 42 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:45,800 If the frog was suddenly thrown in a pot of boiling water, he would jump out, but if he is in the water as it gradually grows hotter, then he doesn’t perceive the growing danger and boils to death out of a lack of self-awareness. 43 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:52,240 There may be urgent emergencies down the line, but for the time being, you’re more comfortable doing nothing. 44 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:57,520 Understand that even if you may be comfortable right now, it doesn’t mean you will be so forever. 45 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:02,120 Constantly settling is not how you get what you want in life. 46 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:05,600 Stop setting aside things for later when you can handle them right now. 47 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:11,600 Generally speaking, successful people have a bias for action. 48 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:20,160 Their default mode is to spot issues and then execute as fast as possible, because they know that’s the only way to get what they want in this world. 49 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:24,240 They don’t get sidetracked by distraction, fears, or even comfort. 50 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:29,000 Perhaps they have even conditioned themselves to be uncomfortable with inaction, an enviable mental space to occupy. 51 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,000 The human mind is great at coming up with excuses for not taking a risk. 52 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,920 After all, why would you want to change anything if you’re already in an acceptable situation? 53 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:38,320 This is the million-dollar question: how can you use this knowledge of comfortable inaction to avoid falling into its trap? 54 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:40,960 Picture that you are living in a house in Hawaii close to a volcano. 55 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:51,400 In one scenario, you turn on the news radio to hear that researchers have estimated that the volcano near you will be active within the next one hundred years. 56 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,200 You figure you won’t be around to care, so inaction it is for you. 57 00:06:55,200 --> 00:07:03,760 In another scenario, you turn on the news radio and discover that researchers have estimated the volcano to be active within the following two months. 58 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,760 You start packing up your belongings in cardboard boxes immediately. 59 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,040 What was the difference? 60 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,560 Inaction was no longer comfortable; in fact, it was painful. 61 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:18,800 Thus, to break out of comfortable inaction, you must make inaction as uncomfortable as possible. 62 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:24,440 Imagine all the long-term and short-term consequences of inaction with as much detail as you can. 63 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,400 Project into the future and visualize all the eventualities. 64 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:31,560 In fact, let your imagination run wild as you picture the potential failure, rejection, and how far behind you will be. 65 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:39,160 This helps in two main ways: First, it snaps you to awareness of what’s at stake in your life beyond your current sense of laziness. 66 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:45,480 Second, amplifying pains and discomforts creates a sense of urgency that will push you to act to stop that pain. 67 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:55,160 Suppose you’ve been dreaming about leaving your desk job and building something of your own, but you never actually do it because you are comfortable with receiving a fixed amount on a fixed date to pay your bills. 68 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,880 That seems like a pretty reasonable excuse to stay in your zone of inaction, right? 69 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:02,720 But think about all the opportunities you are missing, as well as the ways you are stifling your growth by staying. 70 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:04,760 Amplify the positives from action and negatives from inaction. 71 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:10,960 Positives from action: You could be earning more money, or you could be working for only four hours a week instead of forty. 72 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:16,000 You could be going on a nice vacation every month or, even better, working from exotic locales. 73 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,360 You could be proud of building something from the ground up. 74 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:18,960 You could retire early. 75 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:19,880 You could laugh at all your naysayers. 76 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,440 You could be your own boss instead of a perpetual cog in the machine. 77 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:24,760 You have always dreamed of working for yourself. 78 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:29,360 Your worst-case scenario is to end up exactly where you are right now. 79 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,000 Negatives from inaction: You are miserable at your job. 80 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:34,160 You hate your supervisors. 81 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:35,320 You have a long commute. 82 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:36,520 You will never advance further than you already have. 83 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,360 You don’t feel passionately about your work. 84 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:41,480 Competition increases every day. 85 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:43,720 Both your opportunity and ambition will decrease with age. 86 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,200 You are never going to build a business if not now. 87 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,800 Is it really that scary to take a risk on something you’ve never tried before? 88 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:54,440 When you think about it hard enough, you might realize that inaction is actually a lot scarier. 89 00:08:54,440 --> 00:09:00,000 Inaction amounts to a lot of wasted time, but taking action makes wasted time impossible. 90 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:06,400 Tiny Steps Very few people want to go to work when it’s raining cats and dogs outside. 91 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,280 It’s an enormous burden to overcome mentally. 92 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:15,600 You’ll get soaked, your shoes and socks will be puddles, and you’ll freeze from head to toe. 93 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:17,280 Oh, and your only umbrella is broken. 94 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:25,480 It’s such a burden that you don’t even want to go through the motions of getting dressed and putting on your boots. 95 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:26,800 You feel defeated before you even begin. 96 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:32,200 Sometimes a horrendously rainy day can feel just like trying to take action and get started. 97 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:37,880 When we’re faced with huge tasks that feel insurmountable, it’s like looking through a window out at the rain. 98 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:43,200 It’s such an obstacle that everything feels impossible and pointless. 99 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,920 We drag our feet, discourage ourselves, and bitterly complain the whole time. 100 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:55,440 Most of us will probably just stay inside the entire day with a cup of hot chocolate and never get our day started. 101 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:05,120 Similarly, a single huge task, such as “finish the two-hundred-page report,” can certainly sound imposing, if not impossible. 102 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:11,480 It’s just so discouraging to start something like that because you feel that it will never end and you will never make any progress. 103 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:16,960 To some extent, that’s true, because even writing ten pages is only completing 5 percent of the task. 104 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:18,160 Imagine how hopeless you would feel. 105 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:27,960 However, what if you were to break that monumental project up into tiny, easy, individual tasks you could get to work on immediately, as well as see instant progress? 106 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:36,400 For example: preparing the template, finding the first three sources, creating a bibliography, outlining five hundred words of the first section, and so on. 107 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:52,920 Actually, it can go much smaller yet: choosing the fonts, writing the chapter titles, organizing the desk, formatting the document, turning the computer on, sitting down for five minutes, or writing just one sentence. 108 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,560 The smaller, the better. 109 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:57,960 Otherwise, you’re starting each day staring at the equivalent of a torrential downpour. 110 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:07,520 When you break up your tasks into as tiny pieces as possible, you are creating ways to keep your brain happy and motivated for action. 111 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,720 Anything difficult is only a series of easy things. 112 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:16,560 One of the biggest hurdles to taking action is looking at tasks as huge, inseparable boulders. 113 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:23,720 It’s intimidating and discouraging, and when those emotions arise, it’s easy to avoid action because tackling a boulder is a tough sell. 114 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,160 Unfortunately, this is a habit that plagues most people. 115 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:31,680 They see only massive boulders and allow themselves to get emotionally thrown off track. 116 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:38,360 Break up your big tasks into smaller activities and keep repeating until the tasks you have before you are so easy, you can do them within a few minutes. 117 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:47,520 Create small, manageable chunks that will be psychologically uplifting and acceptable, and you’ll increase your action instantly. 118 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:53,080 Make your to-do list as long and articulated as possible, with as many small tasks as you can list. 119 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:59,360 Instead of boulders, think in terms of pebbles—a pebble is something you can handle instantly, without any effort and even with little thought. 120 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,640 In fact, make each task so small it’s almost like you’re not doing anything at all. 121 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:04,400 Can you start a fire only with big logs? 122 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,680 You might be able to, but it would be difficult. 123 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:14,080 It’s much easier to start with kindling, paper scraps, and small pieces of wood that burn easily. 124 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:19,400 Small steps can take you to the top of the hill and let you roll down the other side to seize momentum. 125 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,680 They help you break the inertia that leads to passivity. 126 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:24,200 Let’s take an example that we’re all familiar with: working out. 127 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,360 You want to lose one hundred pounds, a hefty goal. 128 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:33,200 If you go into the gym every day thinking that you want to lose one hundred pounds, you’re going to fail. 129 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:34,560 It’s a huge, enormous boulder of a goal. 130 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:42,760 It might sound grand to proclaim, but in reality, it is going to be very hard to stick to because of how unbelievable it sounds. 131 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:47,600 You won’t see much progress on a daily or even weekly basis, and you will understandably become discouraged. 132 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,160 It’s too much to face at once, like the rainy day from the beginning of the chapter. 133 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:56,800 So what if you approach your weight loss target by breaking it into small, manageable increments (goals) and tasks? 134 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:01,720 This might look something like setting a reasonable weekly weight loss goal, creating daily objectives of eating specific foods (and not eating others), and drinking water every hour. 135 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,760 Eat one hundred fewer calories per meal. 136 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:07,000 Go on walks after each meal. 137 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:08,200 Drink only half your soda. 138 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,200 Eat five fewer fries each meal. 139 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:11,240 Cook once a week. 140 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:12,760 Buy the low-calorie version of snacks. 141 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:13,600 Substitute water for fruit juice. 142 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:18,520 Now those sound much more palatable and achievable—easy, even. 143 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:26,600 If you hit your weekly weight loss goal and successfully drink water every hour, it is far easier to stay motivated and focused. 144 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:38,400 Meeting your smaller weekly target will give you a sense of accomplishment, whereas making an insignificant dent in your total goal (one hundred pounds) will only leave you feeling discouraged and as if the task ahead is too great to achieve. 145 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:46,120 These are small tasks that, if done consistently and correctly, will lead to your overall goal of losing one hundred pounds. 146 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:54,200 These tiny steps and frequent victories will encourage and motivate you to take action. 147 00:13:54,200 --> 00:14:01,120 Depending on our mood, even saying “I’m going to write two hundred words” can feel like a twenty-mile march to the sea. 148 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:07,680 In this case, it’s not even a tiny step—it’s a portion of a step—that we struggle with. 149 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:11,120 One way to get the ball rolling no matter how you feel is to change your phrasing. 150 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:19,920 “I’m going to finish that” turns into “I’m going to get started on that.” The point of this, just like with tiny steps, is to make your threshold for starting as low as possible. 151 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:24,080 In fact, you want to make it so low that it’s nearly indistinguishable from the laziness of not acting at all. 152 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:29,360 Hello Listeners, March 06, 2025 153 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:29,360 154 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:38,200 Today on Social Skills Coaching, where you become more likable, charismatic, and productive, we're diving into a game-changing book that will transform your life. 155 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:50,760 Take Rapid Action: Get Productive, Motivated, Energized, Stop Overthinking, Procrastinating by Patrick King is available on Amazon, with the audiobook also accessible on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible. 156 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:53,480 Visit bitlyPKConsulting to explore more of Patrick's transformative work. 157 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:58,400 The episode title, And, is from the book titled Take Rapid Action. 158 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:07,880 In this must-read, you'll discover practical psychological methods to turn your thoughts into reality instead of endless avoidance and laziness. 159 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:14,480 Transform from struggling with getting off your butt to a machine of productivity and self-discipline. 160 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,080 Create an action bias in your life, starting now. 161 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:26,080 Patrick King, an internationally bestselling author and social skills coach, deconstructs the psychology of laziness and why tomorrow always sounds like a better idea. 162 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:33,400 This book is many things at once - a shot of motivation, a spark of fire, an understanding of your brain, and a list of techniques to get into motion. 163 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,400 It's one of the most valuable skills you'll ever gain because only action matters in life, not good intentions. 164 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:42,120 You'll gain the ability to get things done and hit your goals no matter the circumstances. 165 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:51,160 Learn how comfortable inaction is sabotaging you, actionable and applicable rules to get started before you feel 100% ready, how to create motion and take the first step from complete stillness, and how to defeat procrastination by bundling. 166 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:56,320 Patrick also teaches you how to strategically plan your days to prevent laziness and distraction. 167 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,560 Discover what you think is action but is actually a waste of time. 168 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,600 Stop saying "I'll do it later" and overhaul your mindset for productivity and efficiency. 169 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:12,120 This transformative read will change your life - get your copy today on Amazon, with the audiobook also available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible. 170 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:17,640 Visit bitlyPKConsulting to learn more about Patrick King's work. 171 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:26,920 Join us next time on Social Skills Coaching as we continue our journey to become more likable, charismatic, and productive. 172 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:36,560 Until then, take rapid action in your life starting now!