Words become actions, which means the things you say out loud, doubt or determination, a shared goal or an excuse, show up in what you actually do within minutes or months. This is part three of my six-part Physical Friday series on the saying that thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become habits, habits become character, and character determines your destiny. Today I focus on the moment your spoken words turn into quitting, finishing, or following through.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
When you voice a thought, the action tends to follow it closely. In a tough workout, keep the doubt inside or consciously reframe it, I can do this, one foot in front of the other, and you keep moving. Say aloud, I don't think I can do this, and for most people quitting comes only a short time later. The spoken word is usually the last step before the action.
Because speaking the doubt converts a passing thought into a commitment. I have watched it many times, in others and in myself, someone says my back just doesn't feel like doing this today, and a few seconds later they have checked out of the workout. The words express the doubt, and the body follows the words. The same mechanism works in reverse, say something positive aloud and you can turn a hard day around and actually finish.
Sharing a goal out loud creates accountability, and it plays a big part in your success or failure. Around New Year's, telling a friend, I am going to the gym four days a week and starting this diet, puts the goal on record. Choose someone who will be a positive influence and hold you to it for the full year, because the point of speaking it is to bind your actions to it.
It means doing what you said you would do. If you tell your best friend you are going to do something and then do not, your actions are not congruent with your words, and repeating that builds a very negative habit, being someone who talks without following through. Saying it and then doing it, over and over, builds the opposite habit, and that follow-through habit is a recipe for success in any endeavor.
Speak commitments carefully, then treat the follow-through as non-negotiable, because every kept promise strengthens the habit and every broken one weakens it. Check yourself regularly, are the words I say aloud congruent with my goals, and if not, change either the actions or the words. Done regularly, the actions become habits, and the habits are what carry you to the goal.
Ask someone close to you for an outside perspective, do the words I say match the goals I have expressed? A real friend will tell you straight, you said you were going to lose twenty pounds two years ago and you are heavier now, so no, they do not match. That honesty stings, but a friend like that is exactly the friend to have, and you can do the same for them.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
We have covered thoughts, which you cannot fully control, and words, which you can. Actions are where it all becomes real, the workout finished or abandoned, the resolution kept or dropped. This is the link where everyone watching can see whether the chain holds. I walk through it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The gap between voicing doubt and checking out is shockingly small. I have seen it in events, in gyms, and in myself, the sentence comes out and the quit follows. Luckily I have seen the positive version play out even more, a few spoken words turning a collapsing effort into a finish. I tell both sides in the episode, so press play in the player above.
With resolution season coming, this is the perfect time to watch the words-to-actions link in your own life. Speak the goal, share it with the right person, and then make your daily actions match the sentence you said. The gap between the two is where resolutions die. I explain how I run that test in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Say less, do more, and make sure the two agree. Every time you follow through on a spoken commitment you strengthen the habit, and next week we take the chain one link further, how actions done regularly become habits, for better or worse. Enjoy the holiday season, and I will see you next Physical Friday. Press play in the player above.
words become actions · follow-through · accountability · New Year's resolutions · congruence · quitting · positive self-talk · habits · six-part series · thoughts become destiny · Physical Friday · Tom Rowland Podcast
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep me ready for long days on the water, in short, focused episodes built for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and anyone who wants to stay in the game for life.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.