“But I Don’t FEEL Like It” ~ I Don’t Wanna Hilda, from #hildathebook
Picture this:
After checking your email on your iPhone for any business emergencies, you finally decide to crawl out of bed and start the day. While the coffee pot steams and sputters, you open up your laptop, bracing yourself for another day in the life of the grind. You pour yourself that first cup, make a massive sigh of disgust, and begrudgingly sit down at your desk.
For one reason or another, you are just not feeling it this morning.
Perhaps if you check your email again, something in there will motivate you to get to work. You delete two or three junk emails, reply to another quickly, and mark all the other client messages as new so you can respond to them later - you know, when you’re fully caffeinated. Then, you promise yourself you’ll come back to the dozen or so newsletters that need reading. Surely there is information inside that you absolutely need. But later. Not now. It’s just too early.
Email feels overwhelming, so you move over to Facebook. Much more fun! You post a few comments here and there until you stumble upon a genius quote that inspires you. It’s so good you just have to share it. But what to do with it? Should you share it on your personal Facebook timeline? Maybe create a graphic for Pinterest? Ooh yes! And then put the graphic on Instagram and then link it to Facebook and Twitter? Yeah.
Dammit. Coffee got cold. Time for a refill.
Okay. It’s been almost an hour since you got out of bed and you’re still not feeling motivated. After beating yourself up for what you haven’t done yet, you finally bust out your to-do list and ask yourself a seriously dangerous question: what do I feel like doing?
If the scenario above resonates for you, then you are probably using motivation as your go-to productivity strategy – and it’s the worst strategy imaginable. You hope some external pressure (read: motivation) will come along and prod you into action. Let’s set the record straight right from the get-go . . . Motivation is a really bad choice for a crutch. While it does feel good whenever it decides to pay you a visit, motivation is completely unreliable. It relies on your emotions and your emotions are constantly changing. You simply do not have the luxury of waiting!
You need to get things done - immediately if not sooner!
Tenacity is a much sounder strategy. Instead of hoping the right emotions are going to line up at the right time and place, tenacity is something you can muster immediately. You simply decide you’re just gonna do it because you said so...whether you feel like it or not. Emotions be damned.
I know you may be surprised that, as a life coach, I insist motivation is a heaping pile of BS - but allow me to prove it. I personally guarantee that choosing tenacity will feel different. In fact, it might not feel like anything resembling motivation or inspiration. It’s gonna feel like accomplishment...which can in turn make you feel motivated.
Funny how that works, eh?
Accomplishing things is the best way to motivate yourself. Tomorrow, as you’re winding down your day, try writing your daily Ta-Da! list instead of focusing on your endless To-do list. Celebrate what you actually got done and watch what happens.
Your Turn
What will you accomplish today...whether you feel like it or not?