Stop Waiting to Feel Ready

You’ve set the alarm for 5 a.m. The plan is perfect: an hour of quiet, a quick workout, maybe even planning your day before the rest of the world wakes up. But when the buzzer screams into the darkness, the plan evaporates. Your mood is a heavy blanket, pinning you to the mattress. "I don't feel like it," a voice whispers. So, you hit snooze. And again. The day begins not with intention, but with surrender.

We’ve all been there. We operate under a simple, yet fundamentally flawed, assumption: that we need to feel motivated before we can act. We wait for inspiration to strike like lightning, for the perfect wave of energy to carry us forward. 

The Motivation Myth

We live in a world that glorifies feeling good. Advertisements sell us products promising happiness; social media feeds are curated highlight reels of peak experiences. It’s no wonder we internalize the idea that we must be in the right emotional state to begin anything worthwhile. We think, "I'll start that business when I feel more confident," or "I'll go for a run when I have more energy."

This is the motivation myth. It’s a cruel trick our minds play on us because motivation is notoriously fickle. It’s a result, not a prerequisite. Think of a car engine. You don’t wait for the engine to get warm before you turn the key; you turn the key, and the engine warms up as it runs. Action is the key that starts your internal engine.

Psychologists have a term for this: behavioural activation. It’s a core component of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and it’s built on the solid understanding that our behaviours and our moods are inextricably linked. By changing our behaviour, we can directly influence our emotional landscape. When you’re feeling low or anxious, the natural impulse is to withdraw, to retreat. But this inactivity only deepens the low mood, creating a vicious cycle. Inaction breeds more inaction. The only way to break the cycle is to introduce a new variable: action, however small.

The Science of Starting Small

You might be imagining that "action" means running a marathon on a day you can barely get out of bed. Not at all. The most effective way to leverage the mood follows action principle is to start so small that it feels almost trivial. The goal isn't the outcome; it’s the act of doing itself.

• The Five-Minute Rule: If a task feels overwhelming, commit to doing it for just five minutes. Tell yourself, "I’m just going to tidy my desk for five minutes," or "I’ll just write one paragraph of that report." The brilliance of this is twofold. First, five minutes is a non-threatening commitment. The barrier to entry is incredibly low. Second, and more importantly, once you’ve started, you often find the momentum to continue. The action itself generates the motivation you were waiting for. You prove to yourself that you can do it, and that proof is a powerful mood-altering substance.

• The Domino Effect: Small actions create momentum, much like tipping over the first domino in a line. Making your bed first thing in the morning is a classic example. It’s a tiny task, but it’s a completed task. It’s an immediate win that sets a tone of competence and order for the rest of the day. That small victory makes the next task, like preparing a healthy breakfast, feel more achievable. Each action builds on the last, creating a cascade of productivity that can lift your spirits significantly.

A cousin wanted to get a better handle on his spending. For months, he said he would start a budget "when he felt more organised." The feeling never came. Finally, I suggested he just track one single expense for one day. Just his lunch. That was the action. He did it. The next day, he tracked two things. Within a week, he was automatically noting down his spending without dread. The action of tracking one small thing dismantled the mental block. His feeling of control over his finances, his mood, followed the action of starting.

Practical Applications

This principle isn't abstract; it’s a tool you can use in concrete areas of your life. Let’s break it down.

1. Financial Well-being
Many people avoid looking at their bank balance or planning a budget because it causes anxiety. They wait for a day when they "feel brave enough" to face the numbers. This waiting only makes the anxiety grow.

• The Action: Instead of "creating a full budget," the action could be: "Open my banking app and look at the balance for 60 seconds." That’s it. Just observation.

• The Mood That Follows: This simple act demystifies the situation. The unknown becomes known. Often, people find it’s not as bad as they feared. This small action can spark a feeling of clarity and a desire to take the next step, like categorizing one type of expense. The feeling of empowerment follows the act of facing the numbers.

2. Health and Fitness
"How do I get motivated to exercise?" is one of the most common questions. The answer is, you don't. You just start moving.

• The Action: The commitment isn't to a one-hour gym session. It’s to putting on your trainers and walking around the block once. Or doing five push-ups. Or stretching for three minutes.

• The Mood That Follows: Physical activity triggers the release of endorphins, your body's natural mood elevators. After that short walk, you will almost always feel better than you did before you started. The feeling of lethargy is replaced by a trickle of energy. The action creates the biochemical change that improves your mood.

3. Creativity and Work
Writer’s block, procrastination on a work project, these are classic cases of waiting for the right mood.

• The Action: Open the document. Write one sentence, even if it’s a bad one. Sketch one rough line. Make one phone call.

• The Mood That Follows: You’ve broken the seal. The blank page is no longer blank. The project is underway. The anxiety of not starting is replaced by the satisfaction of having begun. Often, this initial action is enough to pull you into a state of flow, where the work starts to become engaging and enjoyable on its own.

You May Ask

1. What if I take action and still feel bad?
It’s a fair question. The principle isn’t a magic wand that erases all negative feelings instantly. Some days are harder than others. The point is that action gives you a fighting chance. Even if the action doesn’t launch you into euphoria, it almost always prevents the mood from getting worse. Inactivity is a guarantee that a low mood will persist or deepen. Action is an attempt to change the channel. Sometimes it works brilliantly; other times, it just keeps the volume down.

2. Isn't this just "faking it till you make it"?
It’s similar, but more nuanced. "Faking it" can imply inauthenticity. "Mood follows action" is about authenticity through behaviour. You’re not pretending to be happy; you’re engaging in a behaviour that is known to cultivate a sense of accomplishment or well-being. You’re not faking confidence; you’re taking a confident action, and the genuine feeling of confidence often follows as a natural consequence.

3. How small should the action be?
The action should be so small that you can’t reasonably say no to it. If “go for a run” feels impossible, then “put on your running shoes” is the action. If that still feels like too much, “take your running shoes out of the cupboard” is the action. The smaller, the better. The goal is to bypass the brain’s resistance by making the first step insignificant.

4. Does this work for serious feelings of sadness or anxiety?
For everyday low moods and procrastination, this is an incredibly effective self-help tool. However, for clinical depression or severe anxiety, this principle is best applied under the guidance of a mental health professional. In therapeutic settings, behavioural activation is a structured process. If you’re struggling with persistent and overwhelming feelings, seeking professional help is the most important action you can take.

5. How is this different from just forcing myself to do things?
The key is the mindset. Forcing implies a grim, teeth-gritting battle of willpower. The "mood follows action" approach is gentler and more strategic. It’s an experiment. You’re saying, “I notice I feel sluggish. I wonder what would happen to my mood if I spent five minutes tidying this room?” It’s a curious, observational approach rather than a punitive one. You’re testing a hypothesis, not issuing a command.

The First Step is the Only One That Matters

We spend so much of our lives waiting. Waiting for the right moment, the right feeling, the right sign. But life happens in the actions we take, not in the feelings we wait for. You are not a passenger in your own emotional life. You are the driver, and the steering wheel is your behaviour.

You don’t have to wait until you feel like a million bucks to start building a better financial future. You just have to look at one number today. You don’t need to feel like an athlete to become healthier; you just need to take a short walk. The feeling of capability, of control, of optimism, these are not the starting points. They are the destinations arrived at by a journey of small, consistent actions.

So next time you find yourself paralysed by a mood, remember the order of operations. Don’t consult your feelings first. Consult your to-do list, pick the tiniest item on it, and do it. Move your body. Start the sentence. Make the call. The momentum you create will be far more powerful than any motivation you passively hope for.

Your mood is waiting for your cue. It’s ready to follow your lead.