Morning all,
3 hours 17 minutes later than when I’m normally out of bed and working.
3 hours 17 minutes to somehow make up and find the time to push out everything that I want to – which is as follows:
- This blog (naturally)
- 5 Quora answers
- 4 videos
All before 1030am – which is in 2 hours from now more or less.
And so this is what motivated me to write a blog post about this specific subject –
How to just keep going when your motivation dips.
This isn’t just about this blog – this is a problem that all face whether related to entrepreneurship or otherwise.
Table of Contents
Let’s Talk About The Demons
Many of us all face problems with ‘keeping going when you want to give up when you feel depressed when you feel like it’s ‘not worth it anymore…
And finding the push to keep yourself going is damn tough.
I get it, I’ve been there through therapy that I’ve had and the days where I’ve felt lifeless and like there is no hope.
Even now – there’s a voice in my mind that is saying to me:
‘Deepak, other guys are working ¼ of the time you are and they’re making double the money.
Deepak, you wrote 312,000 words last year and it goes you f*ck all,
Deepak, yeh well done on writing every day for the last 28 days in a row – total waste of f*cking time though mate – you got a bunch of well done’s and pat’s on the back I’m sure – and you might even get some business from it – but there is SO much more effective stuff you could be doing
This is the demon. This is the cruel beast within that’s determined to stop me dead, to crush any chance I have of moving forward –
I mean –
I’m 28 days into my New Year’s resolutions of writing, creating, and learning.
The glean has gone, the highs of new years’ resolutions have been forgotten, the people around me know I’m doing this…no one is excited about it – and now….
Now it’s about the slog.
Now it’s about the work.
Now it’s about just putting the axe to the grindstone each morning, and just churning those words out.
And trying to block out of my mind the words of these demons that whisper nefariously into my ear – and stop me from just keeping ongoing.
……………..
………..
…….
You might find me writing a lot about things related to motivation right now – because each morning I wake up – I don’t know exactly what I’m going to talk about – but what I do is follow the rhythm of my feeling – and then I put ‘pen to paper.
And right now I’m trying to fight my way through my dip in motivation – the questions in my mind ringing that say ‘is this worth it?’ ‘Am I wasting my time?’ ‘what the f*ck am I doing?’
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
Dealing With The Inevitable Dip
Any of you suffer from the same issues of finding the drive to just keep going when you want to give up, it’s not fun, exciting, or adventurous anymore.
Well, folks, like for me now – that’s where the real slog begins – and this is what I wished to share with you today.
For me, I honestly believe that one of the biggest causes of failure for any entrepreneurial (or other) endeavors – is this middle (or really very early) ‘dip’ – that you encounter with just about any venture.
It doesn’t actually matter what you’re doing – you’re going to go through the highs of the start of something new (explains my 20s, and all of the things I’d start then soon after stop) – and then be bogged down by the ‘unexcitment’ of it all.
So I wanted to in this blog post share some insights into how I’m planning to deal with this with specific things that are going on in my life:
Let me begin with my first strategies which you can take from:
Face Your Demons, Don’t Resist Them
I think first of all – it’s about accepting those voices, accepting that some of those thoughts will sometimes pop up into your head – asking you what is the value of what you’re doing.
Don’t try and resist such feelings. By resisting them – all you do is give them strength and give them fuel upon which to burn in your mind
This Too Shall Pass
This is an important point that is so very easily lost. Just as with some days you feel ecstatic, and on others, you feel like ‘it’s just another day – or if you look at it more closely you’ll notice that this can happen multiple times within a day…
You’ll see that this feeling of low motivation – of being unsure whether you should keep going – will also fade and pass
But Stick To The Schedule
However, regardless of feeling low – here I am – in my ugly form – still writing. And this is why a schedule is so important.
Often time, routine, and habit will see you through those dips in motivation – and the biggest challenge will actually be building said routine.
I’m on day 28. I don’t think I’ve written literally every single day…but I’m close.
And I’ll say that the last 28 days have been the most consistent period of writing I’ve ever done.
I certainly did write 72,000 words of a novel over maybe 7 weeks or so when I was averaging 2-3000 words per day…but it took it out of me.
And also I didn’t write every day.
I’m writing less per day now, but I’ve definitely upped the consistency.
Routine has seen me through – and if you can get through those first hallowed 21 days – you’ll be surprised by what you can accomplish even when you feel crappy.
Raising My Low Motivation Up To My Consciousness
What’s happening by journalling about it? The only difference between me perhaps and other journals is that I publish my thoughts on my blog – for you folks to all see.
But fundamentally – this process causes my mind to shine a light upon all of the spaces in which my inability to ‘just keep going when I want to give up is impacting my work
g Down My Thoughts Via Journaling
I spoke about this in some more depth in my Ultimate Guide To Stream Of Consciousness writing –
But writing down your thoughts around a specific subject as they come to you each day – is an extremely powerful way to start or end your day – it often allows you to sort out all of the ‘things’ swirling around in your mind.
Just Getting Started
If I focus on the list I wrote above about all of the things I wish to get done before 1030am – I may well just give up. But you need to see what happens if you just get started with an activity that you know you’d benefit from doing.
Often time that generates enough momentum for you to keep going.
Focus On The Here And Now
I’m trying to bring up Eckhart Tolle as much as I can because I want to engrain his wisdom into my consciousness and repetition is often the key to doing this – and reincorporating knowledge you gain in a multitude of ways.
Ultimately the message is – is that there’s no such thing as the past, and no such thing as the future.
They are simply linguistic concepts – so 430am doesn’t exist.
There is only now:
And nothing else – and given this – all we must do is to relax, breathe and focus on the here and now – because this is our world entirely and nothing else exists outside of this.
So powerful this is, and so calming also.
Most of us spend our time worrying about something that’s past or something that’s to come – and it takes away our ability to focus on the here and the now.
Now I think about it – there are a whole host of other strategies that I also employ to keep myself going:
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Making A List Of Goals
Having goals for yourself is important to your success. In my instance, my goals are actually habits which you can read about in my plans for 2021 I wrote earlier this month.
(God that was maybe 35,000 words back lol)
The goals are to write, record, and learn every day.
And this is what I’m doing my damndest to stick to.
What goals do you have?
Find Your Why
This is actually a big one. If a task or new path you’ve set out for your life is troubled (to be honest all path bar none come with challenges) – then you need to figure out a ‘why’.
A big-ass why that can help overcome all of the challenges of the road ahead of you.
Don’t Compare Yourself To Me (or anyone please)
This is probably the fastest way to depress yourself and stop yourself from keeping going.
My path, background, journey, and education all are TOTALLY different from anyone I sometimes catch myself comparing myself with.
And yet, I forget all of that at the moment – and just look at what they’re doing and get totally upset about it.
Maybe around a year or so ago I just started ignoring my peers in my industry (lol sorry guys) minus our friendship and how we could help each other.
Outside of that, I pay ZERO attention to the path they’re on or their journey to success.
Because it harms my psychic energy WAY more than it helps me.
This is something I’m reminded often time by my:
Mentor. Find Yourself A Coach Or A Mentor
That doesn’t just relate to entrepreneurship by the way – this can be a mentor for any area of your life.
But this person can help you with a support network for you to lean upon just in those moments when you feel like you want to give up.
Or you question everything you’re doing.
So I guess I’ll sum up these lists of points by saying
It’s About Progress Not Perfection
You’re going to stumble. Have off days. Question yourself. Question the path. Question it all.
Be gentle with yourself. As long as you keep yourself moving forward steadily – then that’s fantastic.
Progress for me might mean that I won’t get every last thing I want every day.
But it doesn’t mean I’m not making progress, does it?
You can examine this by
Telescoping Out
Whilst when writing for me it IS important to focus upon the here and now – it’s also useful to look at the bigger picture to get a sense of the progress you’ve made.
And I think that’s why journaling/blogging has actually been so healthy for my own psyche.
It’s a place where I can:
Congratulate Me
How often do you feel how well you’re doing?
How often do you take the time to be proud of your accomplishments?
To recognise yourself for the successful path you’re on?
If you run your own business – that WILL NOT come from your team – at best you get a ‘that was great – thanks’ or ‘we’re making moves – let’s keep going.
That’s a big part of why I write this content – it’s my way of congratulating myself and being proud of the path that I’m on – and that lifts my spirits every damn day.
I suppose that’s why I love to write now every morning.
It’s about me, it’s about myself, and about my path.
And THEN, and only then, when the clock hits 1030am…
Will I give myself to others ;P
Final Thoughts
Well, I’m sensing how I feel now – and it’s definitely 30% better than when I started writing this piece.
If I had to put a % on it at least.
But anyway, I hope this is of some sensible and logical help to you as you travel your path and along that path – can rest upon strategies I outlined above – so you can well…
Just keep going 🙂
That’s a wrap:
