Take Action Quotes

Quote About How You Don’t Find What You Don’t Seek

“Take heed: you do not find what you do not seek.”
English Proverb

Beyond the Quote (56/365)

Obviously, right? Well… Maybe not so obvious. The concept is easily understood, of course. If you’re playing hide and seek with your kids, for example, and you send them off to hide, but you choose not to seek them out (that was mean of you), then they won’t be found. Until of course, they come out seeking you so that they can yell at you for not playing the game with them properly (and for being mean)! If you don’t seek, you won’t find. If you don’t go out looking for cars, you won’t find a car. If you don’t seek advice or help, you won’t find advice or help. If you don’t look for the good in people, you won’t find the good in people. Where this concept becomes, “not so obvious” is when you want to find but don’t know how to seek (or aren’t even aware that you’re not seeking).

Matt Damon Quote on Taking Action Rather Than Sitting Around Thinking You’re “Too Cool”

“It was like, ‘Why are we sitting here? Let’s make our own movie.’ And if people come to see it, they come; and if they don’t, they don’t. Either way it beats sitting here going crazy. When you have so much energy and so much passion and no outlet for it and nobody cares, it’s just the worst feeling… This whole ‘I’m too cool to care’ thing… is so weak and stupid and played out, and it just brings everybody down. You shouldn’t be too cool to care, for Christ’s sake. You should be full of vim and vigor, and trying to do everything you can to make a change.”
Matt Damon

Beyond the Quote (48/365)

Regardless of what gets you there, when the end conclusion is not caring, then all of the life that comes from caring dissolves. Caring is exactly what drives us to listen, to pay attention, to take actions, to go above and beyond, and to think and reflect—essentially, when we don’t care, we’re choosing not to interact with the world (or at least that aspect of it).

“Resistance can be overcome by doing the smallest possible step. For meditation, I just had to get my butt on the cushion. For writing, I just had to open up a document and write a few words. For cooking healthy food, I just had to get out a knife and an onion. For studying a language, I just had to press ‘play’ on the audio lesson. For yoga, I just had to get into child’s pose. For blogging, I just had to open up the form for writing a new post. For flossing, I just had to floss one tooth. For reading, I just had to open up the book and read a sentence. I think you get the point. Find the minimum viable habit. The smallest increment of doing the activity. The least objectionable version. And the resistance is overcome.” ~ Leo Babauta, Essential Zen Habits (Page 80)

“Never let your mood determine whether you should do something or not. Mood is a bad indicator of the worthiness of any activity.” ~ Leo Babauta, Essential Zen Habits (Page 80)

Swami Sivananda Quote on Meeting Life’s Challenges Vigorously (Not Backing Down)

“Self-acceptance comes from meeting life’s challenges vigorously. Don’t numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.”
Swami Sivananda

Beyond the Quote (11/365)

In fact, the more you hide from your life challenges and fears, the more they will grow and the more you will shrink. It’s not a single negative, it’s a double negative. If you’ve ever felt your mind take something fearful or challenging from a level 1 intensity to a level 1000 intensity, just from letting it linger in your mind, then you know what I’m talking about. And if you’ve ever let the muscles of your body go without the challenge and difficulty of exercise, then you know what it feels like to shrink. The muscles of the mind—the mental capacity to show courage and face fear—are muscles that none-the-less need to be exercised to grow.

“It is your actions that most accurately reflect your deepest beliefs—those that are implicit, embedded in your being, underneath your conscious apprehensions and articulable attitudes and surface-level self-knowledge. You can only find out what you actually believe (rather than what you think you believe) by watching how you act. You simply don’t know what you believe, before that. You are too complex to understand yourself.”
Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 103)

Beyond the Quote (10/365)

I read an expression the other day that really took me aback: We judge ourselves based on our thoughts but we judge others based on their actions. I knew it was true the second I read it, but I never would have realized it if I hadn’t read it. This was, in fact, the way in which I judged myself versus how I judged others (for the most part) and it was a clear double-standard that I felt guilty about.

“There is no 100 percent right solution. The picture is never complete. Leaders must be comfortable with this and be able to make decisions promptly, then be ready to adjust those decisions quickly based on evolving situations and new information. Intelligence gathering and research are important, but they must be employed with realistic expectations and must not impede swift decision making that is often the difference between victory and defeat. Waiting for the 100 percent right and certain solution leads to delay, indecision, and an inability to execute. Leaders must be prepared to make an educated guess based on previous experience, knowledge of how the enemy operates, likely outcomes, and whatever intelligence is available in the immediate moment.” ~ Leif Babin, Extreme Ownership (Page 254)

“Things fall apart: this is one of the great discoveries of humanity. And we speed the natural deterioration of great things through blindness, inaction and deceit.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 228)

25 Take Action Quotes That Will Help You FINALLY Bring Your Ideas to Life

Excerpt: To know and not to do is the same as not to know. Read our 25 Take Action Quotes and muster up the courage TO DO something about your ideas!

“Your actions reveal how badly you want something. If you keep saying something is a priority but you never act on it, then you don’t really want it. It’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself. Your actions reveal your true motivations.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

“Being curious is better than being smart. Being motivated and curious counts for more than being smart because it leads to action. Being smart will never deliver results on its own because it doesn’t get you to act. It is desire, not intelligence, that prompts behavior.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

Now is right on time.

“It is easy to get bogged down trying to find the optimal plan for change: the fastest way to lose weight, the best program to build muscle, the perfect idea for a side hustle. We are so focused on figuring out the best approach that we never get around to taking action.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

“Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity. It is not always obvious when and where to take action. Some people spend their entire lives waiting for the time to be right to make an improvement.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

“You may never know what results come from your actions. But if you take no action, there will be no results.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi, via The Way of the Seal

“Any plan is better than no plan, and a good plan executed now is far better than a perfect plan executed too late.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal

Remember that one time when you said you’d do that one thing?

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard, via The Way of the Seal