I’d like to talk to you about three words this week. Those words are act, improve and wait. Let’s talk about acting here today. Last week we covered why measuring progress is important, but also addressed how progress is hard to measure when it comes to reducing stress in your life. Sure, we can often tell when we’re stressed or not, but it’s not like we have a refined “stress meter” to tell us exactly how we’re doing from an improvement standpoint. This is why I go back to what I consider is the most important thing to measure when it comes to progress along your improvement journey…whether we’re talking about stress, fitness or nutrition. And that thing is the actions you take toward improving. That’s why the word of the day is “act.” You have control over your actions. You can meter your actions based on how you’re feeling. You can alter your actions based on what’s going on around you. And you can adjust your actions going forward. The fundamental word in actions is to act. What types of actions can you take to reduce or better manage stress? As we’ve said before, the act of focusing on your sleep; the act of planning or better organizing your time; the act of exercising; and the act of eating healthier. You can improve your actions. You have less control over outcomes. Therefore, I recommend measuring your actions toward improvement, not the outcomes that you’re hoping for. You’ll find that improvement will occur…though it may not look exactly like you expected. More on that in the next segment.
Measure the Important Things