It must be true since I’ve come across this notion three times in the last few days; one from my writing workshop, the other time from this Facebook page I follow and lastly from an unlikely source, Ellen Adarna, whose Instagram stories I view religiously (her moving on and self-love tips are practical and she’s hilariously bisdak). It is true for me personally because relying on motivation to get started on my goals is nothing but a sorry excuse to not get started on my goals. “I’m not motivated to write today” is code for lazy. “I don’t feel like exercising or reading or insert whatever it is I don’t feel like doing” is code for what? Lazy. You get the drift. Lack of motivation takes one down a rabbit hole of procrastination and once you’re down there, it is somewhat tricky to climb back up. Tricky but not impossible.
In all three of my sources, the common factor pointed out as the more reliable alternative is discipline. Waiting for motivation to strike is like waiting for manna from heaven, it may never come. Discipline, on the other hand, forces you to get up and do the work regardless of your state of mind. In fact, I had no intention of writing or studying French today. I thought to give myself a break this weekend and was content to binge watch another Korean drama but I know that if I let it slide, the slope to the rabbit hole is slippery. So now I’m writing and listening to a podcast in French au même temps.
One way to be disciplined is to stick to a habit. In my workshop, the aim was to form the habit of writing every day so we were told to dedicate an hour daily to do exactly just that and nothing else. Regardless if we’re able to write anything or not, an hour must be set aside for that purpose. It can be applied to just about anything. Doing something so consistently your day no longer feels complete without it is habit.
I’m not always one to practice what I preach but putting something like this in writing is like a contract with myself, something that I can use to smack myself with if I make any excuses. Push!
Hi te trish! Good blog!
How do you deal with burnouts? Like you do something good regularly to form a habit, pero kis-a you end up the feeling of burnout. Thanks!
Hi Ken! Thanks for dropping by!
Few things work for me: taking a break, meditating and getting adequate rest. A friend also once said that if you’re feeling lost or burned out, try to find your true north, answer the question why you’re doing what you’re doing. I always try to reflect on that.
“One way to be disciplined is to stick to a habit.” — I think there’s no other way around it, whether you’re in business, science, or the arts.
I suppose that’s true. I was thinking you can will it out of yourself too, summon the willpower to do something but in hindsight that’s one step to forming good habits.