Monday Motivation Matters: You Have A Part to Play, Too!

November 18, 2019

“All you have to do is believe”! This might be one of the most overused teachings on the art of perseverance of all time. I always felt like saying this was like pretending to clean spilt milk. The problem is just sitting there looking at you. You know what to do to get it fixed, but there’s a big gap sitting there too.

I’ve come to realize that the trick in persevering isn’t in the motivation to get up and go, but in the getting up, the going and the doing. Look at it this way – if you want to send an e-mail to a client, there are steps you need to take. Beyond saying “I can send this e-mail and it will be the best e-mail ever” or “I can do this”, you actually have to move. You need to open your laptop, connect to the internet, launch your mail, type the e-mail, proofread and send. There is a part you need to play.

The reality is, a lot of people don’t want to do the work. And believe me, I understand. Doing work is hard work. You have to sweat, think, loose sleep, start over, dig deep and perform all kinds of uncomfortable tasks. I get it. But you will be heavily misled if you believe that the recipe to success doesn’t involve you doing the work. This not only requires you doing the work but doing it well, no matter what.

I am not saying you have to do all the work at once. It is literally a “work in progress” – the keyword being “progress”. Progress, by its very nature, takes time and resilience. Dedicate time to making progress every day, no matter how little you can spare. And build resilience by taking steps towards your goal as often as you can.

Rome wasn’t built in a day (another saying that’s quite popular) and neither will your dream. Look in the mirror and tell yourself that YOU need to do the work for YOU to see the results. If not, you’re going to be running on a treadmill all your life – looking like you’re moving, but not actually going anywhere.