I recently met with a friend who has struggled with her weight for years. She started various diets, lost weight, but regained it once her focus shifted to other issues in her life. She was also not inclined to be physicially active regularly.

It had been many months since our last visit and I was pleasantly surprised to see her trim and fit. “Nothing keeps me from my workouts these days.”

That got me thinking about the process of getting from a place of inaction to passionate action. The stages are similar for most of us: not thinking about making a change, considering making a change, preparing for the change, starting the new action, and then maintaining it. Sometimes we bounce around between the stages or get stuck in one stage.

The nudge towards action can be abrupt due to a personal crisis or an emotional  challenge. Perhaps a close friend recently had a heart attack. Or the process can be slower, getting up everyday and becoming ever more dissatisfied with what we see in the mirror. That gives us motivation.

Then to start an action, we need to feel confident we can do it. A fitness instructor, a zealous friend, or a mobile app can help us achieve this.

Once we are regualrly taking action, we need to feel good about our progress and see the rewards. That will keep us passionately on track. In my friend’s case, midlife realities caught up to her. She liked feeling and looking good; work outs were her way to fend off aging or perhaps even deny the aging process (at least for a while).

For some folks data feedback is needed to stay on track.  Information about what they are achieving and how they compare with others can be motivating.  For others, knowing a buddy is counting on them to participate gives them the extra nudge needed to put  on those sneakers at the end of a long work day.

Personality, social supports, environment, stage in life, health status, and much more enter into a “formula” towards action. We often have a different formula for each type of action. Consider what that formula might be for your priority goals. Start with goals you feel ready to tackle now. Then look at goals which you are sure you want to achieve, but need some help.

Build a library of successes first. Set aside the goals you are reticent to consider. Check in with yourself at later time. Perhaps the successes in one area will boost your energy to tackle tougher goals. Our subconscious is constantly adjusting its assessment of situational shifts that drive us to action.

It is also comforting to know that we can purposefully apply our personality strengths to drive action. Knowing this also can give us hope that we can eventually reach that tipping point for passionate action towards all of our important health and happiness goals.