Risk & Business Magazine General Insurance Services Magazine | Page 21

Want to write a book? I’ll take a writing course. Then find the perfect coffee shop. Then I’ll write a masterpiece. Wrong. Want to write a book? Write one page. Even if it sucks. The fact you did it will convince you that you can do it. Then you’ll want to do it. Want to start exercising? I’ll save up for a gym membership and new shoes. Then I’ll make the perfect playlist. And then find a gym buddy. Wrong. Want to start exercising? Run out your front door. Just run. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. It doesn’t matter how far you go. You could run to the stop sign in dress shoes. The fact you did it will convince you that you can do it. Then you’ll want to do it. Then you’ll be a confident and motivated person who buys running shoes for the next time. IT IS EASIER TO ACT YOURSELF INTO A NEW WAY OF THINKING THAN THINK YOURSELF INTO A NEW WAY OF ACTION. MOTIVATION DOES NOT CAUSE ACTION LIKE WE ALL THINK IT DOES. ACTION CAUSES MOTIVATION. Now get going. Neil Pasricha is the New York Times-best-selling author of The Happiness Equation and The Book of Awesome series, which has been published in 10 countries, spent over five years on best-seller lists, and sold over a million copies. Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, one of the most popular TED speakers of all time, and after 10 years heading Leadership Development at Walmart he now serves as Director of The Institute for Global Happiness. He has dedicated the past 15 years of his life to developing leaders, creating global programs inside the world’s largest companies, and speaking to hundreds of thousands of people around the globe. He lives in Toronto with his wife and sons. GLOBALHAPPINESS.ORG 21