When I was setting up my blog, I had a whole lot of ideas swimming in my head. They were so many that all I could think about was set up a blog; a personal blog and WRITE; have a whole lot of subscribers and all but brethren, little did I know that I will be stuck one day. As in, so stuck that for months I wouldn’t be able to make a post.
I kept waiting for that motivation which never came. And because of that, I kinda assumed that maybe I wasn’t meant to be a “blogger”. To be frank, I nearly gave up.
But that’s exactly what happens to most of us. Many of us commit to an action only if we feel a certain level of motivation. And we feel motivation only when we feel enough emotional inspiration. We all want to accomplish something but the moment you don’t feel motivated or inspired, then you assume you are just so screwed. And there is nothing you can do about it.
But isn’t it time to remind that lazy-procrastinating side of you that “Action begets motivation?”. You can’t just sit your ass down waiting for some kind of inspiration or motivation before you “do something”. When you see inspiration as a prerequisite to propel you ahead, my dear eeh, you have no idea how stuck you will be in life. Take an action first; no matter how small it is then watch motivation sneak back.
This night I had to force myself to write this. I brought out my laptop and told myself, “See Ann, just start typing”. A voice in my head was like, “What are you going to type? Do you have any idea? No. Oya na, go back to sleep. You can’t come and kill yourself?” I almost obeyed that voice. But after a second thought, I told myself, “Let me just type one sentence first and see how it goes”. Before I knew it, my fingers got busy. Ideas starting flying in from wherever they have been hiding.
Months back, it dawned on me how selfish and uncaring I can be most times. People called and complained that I hardly give a fuck about them; I never return their calls when I miss them and these were people I knew that genuinely cared about me. I instantly hated that part of me and needed a change. First things first, I made it a duty to start checking on people. Even if it’s one person a day, I just did it. Before I knew it, I found myself making out time for others; listening to them; being there for them even though the only thing I can offer is my presence.
I don’t know what plans you have; you keep dreaming of making it big in this life; your head is so full of ideas, you are so nervous and stressed about what to do. Calm down, take a deep breath and force yourself to start taking some “Baby steps” while waiting for the big break.
Mark Manson, the author of “The Subtle Art of not giving a fuck” will call it, the “Do Something Principle”. It’s a principle that will surely help you overcome procrastination. You know they say, “Action speaks louder than voice”; let’s twist it a little; “Actions speaks louder than talent”. Nobody gives a fuck about your talent until you romance it a little with actions.
“Actions speaks louder than inspiration”. Sometimes inspiration can be playing hard to get; but the shakara ends immediately action comes in.
