My wife is ill with a flu of some kind, like many people have been.
And when she has the flu, as expected and like most people, she can't do much. While taking it easy when sick is fine, what I find with many people I know is that most will only do what they want to do, when they want to do it. And what this means is that when there is the opportunity to do something they don't want to do but should, they don't do it. And then when they can no longer do it, they use the excuse that now they can't.
We are probably all guilty of this.
I definitely
amwas.
I still am to some degree, like "always being an addict" - but over the last few years especially, I have been trying to change my behaviours in this regard, because I have very little motivation to do anything at all since having a stroke. Something in my brain has broken in a way that motivation has just disappeared. So, if I wait until I "feel like doing it", nothing is ever going to get done. Even if I can rationally want something to happen, my brain doesn't translate that into enough motivation to inspire action.
Be inspired?
Must be nice.
The sad reality for nearly all of us is that much of what we need to do in this life isn't very inspiring. No one really wants to practice to get phenomenal at something, but to be phenomenal at something, it requires practice. Similarly, if we want to be in better physical condition, we need to eat healthily and move enough suitably. No one can eat our vitamins or go to the gym for us, and we get the results.
But what seems to happen too often is that we create barriers to action that don't necessarily exist, like being too tired after work to exercise. And sure, you might have had a hard day and feel drained, but the fact is that many people who are using this excuse not to exercise, have *desk jobs. And I have stated before, there is a big difference between mentally and physically tired. And I can guarantee that most people are eating as if they are physically tired, meaning that they are probably in an energy surplus most of the time, where we are eating more than we are burning. Hard to get into any other shape other than rounder like that.
It is not just exercise though, it is for everything. All those little odd jobs and daily tasks that require only a little bit of actual effort, but we don't want to do. Folding the clothes, putting away the dishes, taking the trash out. We wait for motivation for so much, that we end up having so many things on the "to do" list that it seems overwhelming, which is demotivating. And then something happens that stops us from even being able to do it, like getting sick, and then the tasks just pile up higher, and all the things we should do, we can't, and we feel justified. But if we did the things when we had the chance to do them, then we would be in much better shape when the inevitable real obstacles come along that get in our way.
What I observe in most people is that "motivation" becomes a barrier to action, because they keep on waiting for it in order to start. The people who are the most effective and generally also the most motivated, are those who do not wait for motivation before starting, but do what is necessary until they become motivated by the progression they are making on the task. Once they get going, they will keep on going. Once they start cleaning the garage, they will keep on cleaning. Once the cook a healthy meal, they will eat it. Once they get to the gym, they will do their exercise.
Showing up is key.
Every moment we can look at the world and see it as a chance to act. But if we keep on waiting for motivation before we look at the world and the possibilities we have, we are only going to see what we want and don't want, rather than what is possible. And when we are waiting for a feeling of motivation, what we are actually doing is waiting for something to give us the energy, rather than finding what needs to be done, starting, and creating our own energy to continue. Because once we start down the road, we do create the energy to keep going a little further, and then a little further still. At some point, the task is done, or we are well on the road to being phenomenal.
Take the chance.
The saying goes that, we don't know what we've got until its gone, and often this is seen as the loss of something we have, a partner, a thing, a skill. However, every day we are losing chances to act and eventually, the opportunity passes us by and we will never get the chance again. It seems silly to apply this to daily tasks perhaps, but taking care of the little things when the opportunity is there, means having the space for the big things when they arise.
Or tell yourself another reason why you couldn't then, and can't now.
Taraz
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