🦺3 Thoughts to move from Excuses to Action

From Linkedin

“If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint”, then by all means paint, and the voice will be silenced.”

– Vincent Van Gogh

There are endless times in life when we come up with excuses, comparisons and reasons to hold back.

Remember when you were in class or found yourself in an audience ready to ask a question and thought, “don’t raise your hand; someone else will probably have a better question.”

Or that time when you wanted to post something online and though you weren’t the right person to do so, you didn’t have the credentials, or there were people out there posting more interesting things.

But what if I told you that this happens because you put the focus on the wrong place?

Let me introduce you to a simple idea that could transform the way you think and take action. It’s what marketing strategist Seth Godin calls “The Lifeguard Hack”.

Imagine you’re on a lifeguard duty and you see a person drowning. In that situation, even if the water is too cold for your liking, even if you’re not the best lifeguard in the world, and even if you aren’t sure about how to do the cross-chest carry perfectly, you jump in the water.

Why?

Because you’re not doing it for you. You’re doing it for them.

Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash

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The power of The Lifeguard Hack, is in putting the focus on others, not on you.

In fact, in his book “Give And Take”, psychologist Adam Grant explains how willingly giving time, energy and expertise does matter in terms of success and productivity.

For example, let’s say Julian wants to start a YouTube channel about AI software. He hasn’t studied anything related, but he has spent the last 2 years reading about the subject, testing new software, and watching other YouTuber’s.

As soon as he creates the channel, some thoughts come to his mind.

1.“I don’t have a formal education on this”

2. “Am I the most adequate person to talk about AI softwares?”

3. “People are more interested in listening to X than to me, I shouldn’t do it”

But there’s another scenario. As soon as Julian starts the channel, he thinks about the CEO who would benefit from his reviews when choosing software, the guy who will decide to pursue a career in AI thanks to his videos, or the student who will understand a difficult AI concept thanks to his explanations.

Which one will keep him going and make him take action? The second, for sure. That doesn’t mean Julian won’t hesitate or have doubts, but he isn’t focusing on them.

The Lifeguard Hack is about remembering that the goal is to help others. You see when we focus on others, we’re less likely to pay attention to the feelings of doubt and hesitation and, instead, get things done.

So, next time you come up with an excuse not to do something, put yourself in a lifeguard mood and jump into the water. You might be surprised at how many people you can help along the ride.

Thank you for reading😊

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