“A single action shifts a possibility into a probability.”

I first heard this concept from my mentor  David Meltzer, and while I can’t directly attribute the following quote to him, he’s the primary inspiration behind it: “A single action shifts a possibility into a probability.”

We are surrounded by an infinite amount of possibilities. The future is uncertain and everything we do in every moment permanently alters its trajectory. The crazy part is, of the infinite amount of possibilities, there is always one that comes to be.

So as we think about the possibilities in our life and what we want our future to look like, we must think about how we can play an active role in bringing it into fruition. And we must use the only mechanism we have available to us to influence our reality: Taking action.

When you take action, you put something in and it causes something unique to come out. It’s our actions and the actions of those around us that offset the natural rhythm of life and steer reality in a new direction.

Actions don’t guarantee results though. They simply increase the likelihood of generating a certain result. And that’s why action shifts a possibility into a probability. 

Author of “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People”, Steven Covey says “All things are created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.”

The creation in the mind is the awareness of a certain possibility. It’s an understanding that reality could shift a certain way. But thinking doesn’t change anything tangibly until an action is taken on the thought. Again, it’s actions that influence the likelihood of the reality we experience.

An idea to supplement your income with a new business is just a possibility until you tell someone about it, or open a bank account, or try to introduce your work to your first potential client, which increases the probability it will happen. 

An idea that you want to find the love of your life is just a possibility until you tell a friend you want to get set up, or you create a dating profile, which increases the probability it will happen. 

Of course there are more actions or better actions you can take to further improve your chances of getting what you want… But for today know that the desired reality cannot happen without the action. So start there and just get started!