Motivation Follows Action: The Power of Small Steps

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Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I’ll do it once I feel motivated”, only to realize that moment never quite comes? It often happens to me ...

Recently, I was reminded that it’s often action that brings motivation—not the other way around. And it was the small, everyday things that showed me this truth.

One example is the Gothic festival that takes place every year in Leipzig, the city where I live. The whole city fills with people dressed in beautiful gothic costumes—it's like stepping into another world. For years, I’ve wanted to walk through the city in costume with my daughter. But even though I kept thinking this year for sure, the days would just slip by and I’d end up missing it again.

This time, I tried something different. I started with one tiny step: I bought black lipstick 😁 Then I and things started moving. My daughter jumped in with excitement saying “Let’s do this! Let’s try that!” Now it looks like we’ll actually make it this weekend. Just in the last minutes!

Another moment came with something even smaller. Last week, I wanted to bake a lemon cake. I had all the ingredients, but I just couldn’t get myself to start. It felt like too much. So I told myself, just line the baking tin with paper. That’s all. So I did. And the next time I had a spare time, I zested the lemon, prepped the flour… and little by little, in the end the cake came together.

Looking back, I see it clearly: motivation doesn’t always come first. But taking one small action can open the door to the next step, and the next—and suddenly, you're motivated.

It doesn’t have to be something big. Just do something. Buy the lipstick. Line the tin. Even the smallest steps can become turning points when you look back.

So if you’re feeling stuck, push yourself for a really small step. It might be just what you need to get things flowing again.

(Photo: Browsing lace at a fabric shop for our gothic outfits—so much fun! I’m so glad I took that first step 😆)


今回、日本語はnoteの記事として書いてみました。よかったらのぞいてみてください☺️

小さな一歩がモチベーションを連れてくる



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9 comments

I know this soooo well! And I can agree with you: Motivation sometimes needs a little motivation itself. Doing the first step (no matter how small) helps a lot with getting things started :) I hope you will have a great time next weekend - I heard about the gothic festival a lot already, but was never able to attend. Maybe next year. I listen to a lot of goth and dark wave music while working, driving or gardening so I would not feel weird dressed up as a Cure fanboy (does this even count as goth?.. hmm)

Have a great week ahead!

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Hey, nice to hear from you :) It's hard to believe you know this as you hosted such a great event last month!

Even I participate in the fest, I don't have any idea about goth and dark wave music. And listening it while gardening!? It might be interesting experience. I'll explore the genre this afternoon.

It might be fun to dress up with hair color like yours. We keep our Japanese black this time but next year maybe.

Have a nice week too!

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Motivation can lead to excitement sometimes that you can do it all of a sudden 😁

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100% yes, that's always how it goes!! Glad you could invite the motivation it...:)

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"Inviting motivation" is a nice expression :) You are the artist, Kesityu 👏

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Motivation is really good because sometimes it lead to excitement that someone won't know when they will finish what they didn't want to do.

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Reminds me of the saying from Zig Ziglar

You don't have to be Great to Start but you have to Start to be Great.

That would be so fun to see, they have a Goth fest in an English fishing village called Whitby, which is the first place Dracula arrives in England. He was shipwrecked and jumped ashore as a dog.

But the point was there are loads of goths and people in costume.

Next year you can do it...

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