You may have noticed that one follow through strategy has managed to get less attention than the others. Perhaps that’s because, unlike the other strategies that rely on observations, insights, discoveries, and ideas that aren’t, shall we say, “obvious,” the Strike While the Iron is Hot strategy is sitting right out there in the open, where it’s hard to miss.
Strike While the Iron is Hot is based on the common observation that good intentions that are based on spur-of-the-moment ideas tend to evaporate rather quickly. So, unless you act on them right away, you can pretty much kiss them goodbye.
It’s now or never
You’ve probably had an experience like this before: Someone does you a favor, and feeling genuinely grateful, you think of a tangible thing you should do to thank them. “I’m going to send Diane a gift to let her know just how much I appreciate her help,” you tell yourself. “Yup, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to send her a gift.”
However, because you’re not able to do it right away, you wait until you can do it. The problem is, by the time you can do it, surprise, surprise, the good intention that was once on fire has cooled considerably. And now with the sense of urgency gone, the intention sinks to the bottom of your mind. You may think about it again in a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years. And whenever you do, there’s a good chance that you’ll feel guilty, but by then, it’ll probably be too late to do anything about it.
Seriously, I’ve interviewed people who have continued to experience pangs of guilt literally decades after they let a good intention like this slip away without acting on it.
To do or not to do
Of course, it goes without saying that that not all spur-of-the-moment good intentions are worth acting on. It’s okay that some of them evaporate quickly because they never would have survived a proper vetting. For example, if the idea of painting your 3-story house “Outrageous Purple” suddenly pops into your mind, do not — I repeat, do not — immediately head for the hardware store to buy paint!
Having a spur-of-the-moment intention can obviously leave you between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, you don’t want to act on an intention before you’ve had a chance to thoroughly vet it and determine that it’s truly worth taking seriously. On the other hand, if you hold off on taking action, there’s a good chance you’ll never act on it even if you later conclude that the intention was worth keeping.
The best way to treat your spur-of-the-moment intentions
So, what should you do when you have a spur-of-the moment intention?
If you’re pretty sure that the intention is a keeper, that is, that it’s truly a good idea and that it’s realistic for you to implement it, then take a tangible action right away that brings you as close as possible under the current circumstances to implementing the intention. So, for example, if the intention simply calls for you to make a “thank you” phone call, if it’s at all possible, make the call NOW.
If it’s not possible under the current circumstances to immediately and fully implement an intention, or if you’re just not sure yet if the intention is a keeper, then at least take a tangible action now that will keep the intention alive and either move you closer to implementing it or give you some time to vet it. For example, at the very least, immediately text or email yourself, send yourself a voicemail, or share your intention with someone who will remind and urge you to act on it.
Remember: Spur-of-the-moment intentions are notorious for getting lost in the shuffle. So, the next time you have one, either take some kind of action right away, or kiss the intention goodbye.
If you’re enrolled in the Follow Through Master program, you can learn more about Strike While the Iron is Hot here.