Here’s what to do when you don’t feel like it.
Get after things even if you don’t feel like it. Especially if you don’t feel like it. That’s what separates the greats from everyone else. They keep doing, keep going even if they don’t feel like it. It isn’t a matter of feeling it. It is a matter of creating it despite not feeling like it. That’s the key. That’s the discipline. That’s what makes people great. Don’t feel like going to the gym today? Still go. Don’t feel like eating healthy food today? Eat healthy anyway. Don’t feel like waking up early? Still wake up early. Don’t feel like putting in the extra hours today? Put in the extra hours. The thing is you will feel so much better about yourself for having put in the work, for having denied yourself the easy route, for putting in the extra effort. Doing things despite not feeling like it is a huge confidence and esteem booster. If you can pull it off, you possess a massive advantage over others.
People think that professional athletes, gymnasts, and others always feel like they should want to do their thing, practice their sport, put in the reps. Not True. They have days where they don’t want to practice, where they don’t want to take the reps, where they’d rather not get up at 4 AM and swim for hours. The difference is they get out of bed and go. They psyche themselves up to go and do. They push themselves through the mental B.S. of talking themselves out of it. They go and do despite not feeling it. They have the same doubts as anyone else, yet they go and do. Professional athletes, like the rest of us, cannot rely on motivation alone. Motivation is fickle. It will be with you and then leave you in an instant. Discipline is always with you if you choose it. What you allow in and what you disallow / keep out are the keys to your discipline. Your discipline is 100% responsible for your actions and successes and your failures. If you were once successful and lately been feeling low or less successful than you historically have been, take a look at your actions and your discipline. How is it lately? Where have you been stuffing off?
Where have you been lacking? Where have you done nothing where you should have taken action? Where have you been weak? Be honest with yourself and examine what you’ve done or haven’t done. Then, figure out your game plan to get yourself back on the disciplined path. You’ll come to realize that your discipline can be your best friend.
The easiest thing in the world is to fall off the path. The easy thing is to not do. The easy thing is to sleep in. The easy thing is to eat junk. The easy thing is to skip the work-out. The easy thing is to excuse yourself from the work. The easy thing is to hit the couch and fire up Netflix. The hard thing is to do while not feeling it. The hard thing is to wake up early. The hard thing is to eat clean. The hard things is to do the work-out despite not feeling it. The hard thing is to read instead of binging Netflix. The hard things comprise our discipline, which is why most people hate the word. Yet it is our discipline that will set us free. It is our discipline that drives accomplishment. It is our discipline that drives our productivity. It is our discipline that drives us. Without it, we are adrift in distraction and mediocrity. Jocko said it best and it continues to ring true : Discipline = Freedom. It is a statement that transcends time. It never goes out of style.
