Committed Action: The Courage to Move Even When You Do Not Feel Ready
Introduction to Healing and Therapy
Have you ever noticed that sometimes the hardest part of healing is not understanding why we do what we do. It is actually doing something different. I have seen this again and again. Clients who know their triggers, who can name their fears, who can describe their shame with language that is deeply insightful and psychologically flexible too.
And then when it comes to taking the next step into action, something inside of them freezes. For those of us who sit with clients every day, this is the sacred edge of therapy. It is where insight meets life. It is where the professional relationship comes to a halt because understanding is not what is needed next. What is needed next is movement.
I am Dr. Matt Bedell, a licensed professional counselor, supervisor, and licensed chemical dependency counselor based in Allen, Texas. And this is Belonging Matters.
Understanding Committed Action
Here, we explore how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) provides a framework for experiencing deep seasons of recovery from social anxiety, especially when we approach recovery from a shame and trauma-informed lens. Movement is where committed action really comes to life.
The Headache Analogy
It is kind of like if you have a headache and I hand you a bottle of ibuprofen. Do you feel better yet? Not really. You still have to open the bottle. You have to take out the medication, and if you cannot swallow pills on your own, then you need to find something to drink. Once you find that drink, you need to take the medication and let it work.
While the medication is taking effect, it is worth evaluating where the headache came from.
Am I dehydrated?
Am I tired?
Am I stressed?
Have I been staring at screens for too long?
Do I need to go outside?
And when you realize, “Oh, I am dehydrated,” because who drinks enough water anyway, then you take another committed action and drink water. While the medicine does its work, you begin to feel better.
This analogy matters because those first few steps are not about feeling better. They are about doing things that make better possible.
In ACT, committed action is choosing behaviors in service of what matters most, even when fear, shame, and doubt show up. It is not about forcing yourself through pain. It is about aligning what you do with who you want to become.
Overcoming Social Anxiety
For clients with social anxiety, the word “committed” can sound like pressure. Like if they cannot do it perfectly, they have already failed. And that is why the shame lens matters.
Shame whispers:
You are not ready.
You are not good enough.
You will make a fool of yourself.
Wait until you feel confident.
Wait until you are motivated.
And ACT teaches something radical: you do not have to wait until you feel ready to begin.
When I talk with clients stuck in procrastination, I remind them of two things.
First, in ACT, language is behavior.
Even when you are tangled in hesitation or self-criticism, something is already happening. The moment you notice that process, you are already thinking with greater psychological flexibility. That noticing is a form of committed action. You are already doing it.
Second, with great insight comes great responsibility.
Once you see clearly, the next step is to practice these skills tenaciously so you can build the life you deserve.
Committed action is not about perfection. It is about persistence, doing the small, imperfect things that allow healing to begin, just like taking that first sip of water after the medicine.
The Pathway Analogy
In my backyard, there is a little path my daughters take to reach their playground. Their steps are so consistent that small patches of worn earth have formed, like lived-in stepping stones without the stones.
On the other side is a garden, and if they ever chose that route or chased a butterfly or tried a new angle, they would meet resistance. The grass is thicker. The ground uneven. There may be dips or rocks. It is uncomfortable, not because they are doing anything wrong, and simply because the new path has not been worn in yet.
This is what committed action looks like. When we begin living differently, choosing behaviors aligned with our values rather than our fears, the first steps are awkward, uncertain, and uncomfortable. The familiar path feels easier, and each intentional step forward begins carving a different way.
Over time, those small steps form new pathways in the grass and in the nervous system, in identity, and in self-trust. The work is not waiting for the new path to feel comfortable before we walk it. The work is walking it until comfort starts to find us there.
Small Steps and Tipping Points
Committed action in therapy often shows up in ordinary ways. And those are the moments that change everything.
Maybe it is texting a friend back.
Maybe it is attending a social gathering for ten minutes.
Maybe it is saying “I do not know” instead of pretending you are fine.
It does not have to look dramatic. It has to be directed and intentional.
When someone feels overwhelmed or avoids tasks, I help them shift their focus to the tipping point, which is the smallest action that starts momentum.
If I want to work out and the full workout feels daunting, maybe I know that if I do some pushups and a few pull-ups, I am warmed up and likely to keep going. So I focus on pushups and pull-ups, then let momentum carry the rest.
Another approach is a half step.
If there are six exercises, maybe start with three. Let that be enough to begin. You can always decide to continue.
These skills help you find one micro action that moves you from stillness into motion. Try experiments. Test new approaches. That is how anxiety loosens its grip—not by finishing everything and by starting something.
Reflection and Integration
When the action is done, however small, the most important part begins: reflection and integration.
Committed action is not about checking a box. It is about intentionally pausing after doing something you did not think you could do and updating your expectations for next time.
Resilience is not taught. It is built through reflection and integration, and by realizing that I made it through something I did not think I could do.
We also touch both mindsets here:
Growth Mindset:
Effort toward mastery, focusing on process, not perfection.
Fixed Mindset (healthy version):
Soaking in accomplishment, saying, “I did it. Look at what I achieved.”
We get to hold both the humility of growth and the satisfaction of completion. What a privilege to be both a learner and a witness to our progress.
Each step matters.
Each reflection deepens learning.
Each repetition builds a path toward belonging.
We just have to pay attention.
Belonging and Healing
Through the shame lens, committed action becomes a practice of belonging. Shame says effort only counts if it is perfect. If you stumble or rest, you failed. Shame assigns this a moral meaning: I am a failure.
Committed action offers a different story.
Effort itself is a declaration of worth.
Each step forward resists shame’s message that you are not enough.
It is where you start living your life instead of fear living it for you.
For people with social anxiety, every moment of showing up is tough, and they can do tough things. Speaking when silence feels safer, making eye contact, letting yourself be seen, these are moments of profound courage. They are not small acts. They are quiet revolutions.
Belonging is not about eliminating shame or fear. It is about moving with them. Discomfort does not mean danger. It means you are alive and present in something important.
When clients realize that their actions, not their outcomes, define healing, they reclaim something sacred, the belief that they are worthy of showing up even when it is hard.
That is belonging in motion.
That is healing embodied.
Final Thoughts and Resources
So maybe the question is not, “How do I feel confident enough to act?”
Confidence comes after action.
Self-esteem is built through reflection and integration.
Maybe the real question is, “What is one step I can take today that honors who I want to become, and can I bring fear along for the ride?”
Healing is not a feeling. It is a direction. It is often uncomfortable, like stepping into new grass. It is not one act of courage. It is a steady practice of turning toward what matters, learning, and updating your understanding of life.
When you choose movement instead of rumination, presence instead of perfection, and belonging instead of avoidance, you practice committed action.
You do not have to feel ready to begin.
You only have to begin.
Pay attention to the small actions, the quiet reflections, and the growing awareness that you are already on your way home to yourself.
Thank you for being here.
If you are a therapist, thank you for the work you are doing in the world.
If you want to learn more about social anxiety from a shame and trauma-informed lens, the Master the Shame Lens training, CEU Link: Click Here
If you want a deeper dive, you can get all 7 of the free ACT for social anxiety series here. ⬇️
Take care,
Dr. Matt