Yep, Mood Follows Action (well, sometimes)
Inspiration isn’t always convenient — showing up when trying to fall asleep or stuck in the shower. But what do you do when you’re ready to work, but there’s no drive?
Waiting for motivation feels easer, even intuitive. But that’s not the best strategy, because often, mood follows action.
There is one caveat though. If you’re multi-passionate and juggling many goals and projects, you can more easily leverage your mood, and follow it to where it takes you.
So let’s unpack this moody nuance!
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Why Mood Follows Action
I think we’ve all experienced this.
You have something you’re supposed to be doing, and you’re really not feeling it. But once you finally do start, you’re suddenly motivated (and sometimes even find some flow).
Mood follows action because, sometimes, you just need a small spark to start a fire.
So what’s going on here?
“Taking action puts you in the present moment. When you’re lingering in the thought of doing something, you end up overcomplicating stuff or overthinking it.”
Inaction can become paralysis — especially for bigger, complex or important goals.
Taking action shifts your attention away from the future (or past) and puts you in the present.
Action (even tiny action) also sparks momentum and positive feelings about yourself. This can turn into a feedback loop of action creating mood creating more action.
Taking action is a better strategy than just waiting for the right moment (i.e., motivation).
Or is it?
Multi-passionate people have a unique opportunity, where action can actually follow mood. That is, you can leverage sparks of motivation to make real meaningful progress.
The Problem With Mood (for the multi-passionate person)
For the multi-passionate person, motivation isn’t a simple yes or no answer. Its…complicated.
Sometimes Often, motivation isn’t the problem. It’s the singular narrow focus part we get tripped up on. We feel pulled in multiple directions all the time. And when projects or tasks start to pile up, we start to glitch (leading to inaction).
Suddenly, the simple act of starting a small task (just to get that momentum and capture mood) feels like moving a mountain.
It would be so much easier if there was just one single goal or task that needed to be worked on.
But what if this is our superpower? I think it is.
How to Leverage Mood (as a multi-passionate person)
If you’re constantly juggling multiple projects and passions (and refuse to abandon them, because let’s face it — they all feel like your calling), then you’re in a unique position to leverage your mood (rather than trying to create it).
Here’s how:
Create a focus loop. Identify 2-4 projects you’re currently hyped about or that most require your attention.
Find a through line. Aim to choose projects that are somewhat connected or share a common theme.
Break them down. Break down the projects into small steps to focus on.
Follow your mood. Work on projects (within your focus loop) that you feel most called to.
Optimize your workflows. Leverage tools like AI to automate what you hate.
I’ve found that when my focus loop is made up of relevant projects, working on one can often spill into progress on the others.
For example, music and blogging are two of my core passions. But when I write music, I often discover unique creative workflows that I can turn into blogs. And similarly, when writing about creativity, I may discover new strategies or insights on how to improve my creative process.
For the multi-passionate, passion stacking is normal and often, projects are connected in unique and innovative ways (again, our superpower).
So don’t feel too bad about this situation — instead, leverage it.
Still No Mood? Try These 5 Tips
1. Find Your Activation Energy
The activation principle is the amount of energy needed to ignite some reaction.
To put it another way, it’s the minimal amount of motivation needed to just take that first step.
Focusing on the minimum energy required to start something is less intimidating and simpler. We’re more likely to be able to try a simple 5-minute task over some big, overwhelming one.
And once you do start, there’s a good chance that your mood will take over, pushing you to continuing working.
So, how can you manifest the minimum amount of energy and motivation requires to just take the first tiny step?
No big commitments, just a little dabbling — that’s all it takes.
2. Create Systems
A system is how you do something, which includes specific processes and workflows customized to you and your preferences.
When struggling with motivation or a lazy mood, systems take away decision fatigue or “glitching” (decision paralysis — especially common when juggling multiple goals and passions).
With a system, you know exactly what you need to do and how. So if you haven’t created your own systems, then this could be the perfect time.
For example, I’m most creative in the mornings and evenings, so I tend to do creative things during these times.
I also have a specific process for researching topics, doing keyword research, outlining a post, creating images and publishing it on my blog. It feels like second nature at this point, so I don’t need to rely on thinking or mood too much.
Sometimes, just having clear directions makes it way easier to get going.
3. Make Stuff Bite-Sized
Long to-do lists and big goals can be demotivating — unless you shrink things down into bite-sized tasks.
This goes back to the activation principle idea. Your goal is to simply spark a reaction, and this is done by focusing on a tiny, fast task.
The simplest way to do this is by reverse engineering your goals and projects into first micro goals, and then breaking down each micro goal into even smaller nano goals.
With this strategy, you just focus on the tiny step in front of you, which isn’t overwhelming and much easier to tackle. This approach (of becoming 1% better everyday) starts to compound.
4. What Would Future You Do?
Nobody knows you better than your future self. So let’s consult with them.
This is a simple thought exercise that can provide clarity about what to do and where to focus. Like systems, this is especially helpful if you’re multi-passionate.
So, look within and ask yourself, “What would the ideal future version of me do?”
Often, we know exactly what we need to do. And most of the big goals and things we want to achieve require different habits, decisions and perspectives.
Consulting with your future self is a way to embody a different version of yourself. This adds clarity and can be motivating.
5. Stack the Cards Differently
If you’re struggling with finding the mood to do something, stacking the cards in your favor could help.
So often, my motivation, productivity and creativity are influenced by my surroundings and the people in my life. So let’s optimize things.
Here are the main ways I like to stack the cards in my favor:
Your inner circle
The people in you life
Connect with more motivating people
Your outer circle
The content you consume
Stop watching the news and consume better content
Your environment
Your spaces and places
Go to a cafe, declutter — go nuclear and move overseas!
Later ✌️
Mood definitely follows action — but not always.
If you’re multi-passionate, you’re in a unique position to leverage mood by hopping through your projects (your focus loop) based on mood. This is a solid way to leverage motivation and optimize your workflows.
But sometimes, there’s no mood for anything. In these situations, you can try reverse engineering goals into small steps, creating better systems and stacking the cards in new ways.
It’s also important to recognize burnout though — sometimes, more work isn’t the answer. So take breaks too, there’s no rush.
Want More? Nice. Here’s More.
