The myth of motivation

Hello everyone,

This past week was challenging for me, honestly. I play the guitar for 8 years now and when you are this far down the trip, then you have to practice at least 20 Minutes a day.

But, even today, I struggle with motivation. I find that I often lack the motivation to practice.  I'm also not always eager to write a new blog post. It's all work, and not everything is always fun.

But a very interesting online course about productivity gave me a new mindset.

Why you shouldn't rely on motivation

Imagine that the adult in your mind wants you to practice guitar.

If you rely on motivation, you will ask yourself, 'Do I feel like practicing guitar?' and then proceed to action if the answer is 'yes.'

But that's not ideal

Because if you answer that question with 'no', then you wouldn't practice. And because of social media and dopamine, people are probably more likely to answer this way.

In a perfect world, So considering this example I gave you, I would just think: “I should practice guitar” and then I would do it.

But what is the name of the shortcut?

It's discipline,

if you rely on discipline, then you won't think about work and not do it. It's a mindset that would greatly increase your productivity.

“The first and best victory is to conquer self.” ~ PLATO

But how?

By my experience, one way to improve your self-discipline is to step out of your comfort zone more frequently:

You avoid presenting your results before your class? Do it,

You don't want to go to the gym because all the guys are bigger than you? Do it,

You don't want to go inside a cold shower in the morning because it's very unpleasant? Do it.

By stepping out of our comfort zone, things that were unpleasant before are becoming straightforward.

You can notice your comfort zone getting worse when going to a vacation. I want to avoid saying a vacation is bad, you probably need it after long weeks of work, but we all know that the first day of work again is much more unpleasant. That's because we got used to relaxing and doing what we want every day. But as I said, it is good to take a break occasionally. Nevertheless, that's a good example for you to notice what I actually mean.

In conclusion, perhaps you should be tougher on yourself in the future, but don't overdo it, of course.

See you next time ^^