The Little Engine That Could

The Law of Delay

“Delay is the deadliest form of denial.”
~ C. Northcote Parkinson

From: The Times (London), 15 September 1966,
“Parkinson’s Law of Delay” by C. Northcote Parkinson

There is nothing static in our changing world and recent research has tended to show that the Abominable No-man is being replaced by the Prohibitive Procrastinator. Instead of saying “No” the Prohibitive Procrastinator says “In due course,” foreshadowing Negation by Delay.

The theory of Negation by Delay depends upon establishing a rough idea of what amount of delay will equal negation. If we suppose that a drowning man calls for help, evoking the reply “In due course,” a judicious pause of five minutes may constitute for all practical purposes, a negative response. Why? Because the delay is greater than the non swimmer’s expectation of life.

The same principle holds good in a case at law. Delays are thus deliberately designed as a form of denial and are extended to cover the life expectation of the person whose proposal is being pigeon-holed. Where the urgent matter requires remedial legislation, delay takes on a new dimension. The judicious pause will correspond, nevertheless, to the life expectation of the man from whom the proposal originates. DELAY IS THE DEADLIEST FORM OF DENIAL.’

How Can I Recharge My Depleted Motivation?

From Life Hacker, we have this nice little article about how to recharge when your motivation battery is depleted.

Dear Lifehacker,

Lately I’ve been completely unmotivated to do anything. Getting things done at work is a challenge, and it’s even worse at home. My apartment is becoming a mess, I never cook anymore, and I’ve been unable to keep up a healthy diet. I don’t feel depressed or all that unhappy—just very unmotivated. Is there anything I can do to recharge?

Sincerely,
Dangerously Demotivated

Dear DD,

A lack of motivation is a difficult problem because there are likely many factors contributing to it, but the simplest way to get your motivation back is to do something you want to do. The problem with that is when you’re low on the necessary energy and willpower needed to start a particular task, your motivation is generally re-routed to indulge in something effortless like food or entertainment. Overindulgence, as you’ve likely noticed, only serves to make the problem worse. So what do you do? First, we need to pinpoint what’s causing your lack of motivation and then we need to find ways you can trick yourself into getting it back.

Social Rejection Can Kill Your Motivation

Motivation can be depleted by a number of sources. A recent post by David McRaney, author of the human behavior blog and book You Are Not So Smart, discusses many of them. One study asked a group of students to meet each other and then write down who they’d like to work with on a piece of paper. The researchers conducting the study ignored their choices and told some that they were chosen and others that nobody wanted them. Unsurprisingly, the rejected were unhappy, but here’s how it changed their behavior and why:

The researchers in the “no one chose you” study proposed that since self-regulation is required to be prosocial, you expect some sort of reward for regulating your behavior. People in the unwanted group felt the sting of ostracism, and that reframed their self-regulation as being wasteful. It was as if they thought, “Why play by the rules if no one cares?” It poked a hole in their willpower fuel tanks, and when they sat in front of the cookies they couldn’t control their impulses as well as the others. Other studies show when you feel ostracized and unwanted, you can’t solve puzzles as well, you become less likely to cooperate, less motivated to work, more likely to drink and smoke and do other self-destructive things. Rejection obliterates self-control, and thus it seems it’s one of the many avenues toward a state of ego depletion.

When you get rejected, you lose your desire to try because it seems as though nobody would care either way. It’s unlikely this is the case, as one instance of rejection from one or a few people doesn’t encompass the opinion of every person in every situation, but it feels that way and so that’s how you react.

Neglecting Your Physical Needs Makes It Hard to Do Anything

Getting rejected in even a simple way is not the only way to destroy your motivation to do much of anything. Similar effects are possible when you’re not eating:

A study published in 2010 conducted by Jonathan Leval, Shai Danziger, and Liora Avniam-Pesso of of Columbia and Ben-Guron Universities looked at 1,112 judicial ruling over the course of 10 months concerning prisoner paroles. They found that right after breakfast and lunch, your chances of getting paroled were at their highest. On average, the judges granted parole to around 60 percent of prisoners right after the judge had eaten a meal. The rate of approval crept down after that. Right before a meal, the judges granted parole to about 20 percent of those appearing before them. The less glucose in judges’ bodies, the less willing they were to make the active choice of setting a person free and accepting the consequences and the more likely they were to go with the passive choice to put the fate of the prisoner off until a future date.

When leading a busy life, it can be very easy to skip breakfast and/or have a late lunch, then find ourselves in a position where it’s difficult to get much done because we’re lacking the necessary glucose to help us think properly. Even after you finally eat, you can end up with a headache from neglecting to do so for much of the day, which doesn’t really motivate you to do much other than lie down. Neglecting our physical needs can deplete our motivation to do much, so it’s important to keep track of that neglect so it can be corrected. One way you can do that is fill out this daily personal inventory form and see if there are any common trends in your days. If there are, recharging your motivation may be as simple as eating breakfast and getting enough water.

Making Too Many Decisions Exhausts Your Brain

One of the fastest ways to get you lying on the couch with a tub of ice cream, however, is to put you in a situation where you have to make several big decisions. John Tierny, in an article for the New York Times, discusses the problem:

Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car. No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price. It’s different from ordinary physical fatigue – you’re not consciously aware of being tired – but you’re low on mental energy. The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain, and eventually it looks for shortcuts.

This doesn’t just come down to large decisions at work. If you have to make a number of small decisions you can slowly cause the same fatigue. If you don’t manage the number of choices you make each day, whether small or large, you’ll find yourself repeatedly indulging.

How to Regain Your Motivation

Regaining your motivation involves a combination of ccombatingthe sources of its depletion and tricking yourself into taking the first step. In the case of social rejection, you’re going to feel bad and not want to do much at all, but you need to confront the problem. Perhaps there’s something you’re doing that’s causing the rejection, or perhaps you’re just interacting with unpleasant people. Talk to the person (or people) who rejected you and find out why. Look at ways you can correct the problem if you’re the cause, or try to work through it with the other person if they are. If it can’t be solved, consider ways you can remove yourself from the situation because constant unwarranted social rejection isn’t healthy for anybody.

If you’re simply not taking care of your body, the solution to that problem is pretty obvious. As previously mentioned, you first have to pinpoint the issue and you can do that easily with a daily personal inventory. Figure out what you’re neglecting in your physical needs and make it your number one priority to change that.

When it comes to decision making, it can often be difficult to manage every choice you’ll have to make because you don’t always know when you’ll have to make them. One way to get around this problem is to create a to do list of decisions rather than tasks so you’ll know what needs to be decided and when. Split them up, make sure you don’t have to much to decide in one day, and leave room for unknown decisions you may encounter as the day goes on. Don’t forget to include small things like grocery shopping, as you can get stressed out all the same when you’re trying to figure out what should and shouldn’t end up in your refrigerator.

Finally, figure out something you really want to do. This may be on the boring side and mean you want to clean your apartment, or something more exciting like make a game. Whatever it may be, take a very tiny first step that only requires about five minutes of your time. On the next day, take a slightly smaller step. Work your way up by accomplishing just a little bit more each time. When you start to see your accomplishments and how little effort they take, you’ll have an easier time making progress. After all, just getting started is everything

Hopefully these tips will help you regain your motivation. If you combat the causes and take it slow, you should be back to form in no time.

Love,
Lifehacker

If He Can – I Can

In February 2013, Faujah Sing became the oldest person to run a marathon at age 101, completing a 6.25 kilometer race in Hong Kong in one hour, 32 minutes, and 28 seconds. Astonishingly, Sing only came to racing at age 89 after losing his wife and son, but has since completed eight competitive races.

Here’s a video:

His story is as follows:

Fauja Singh was born on April 1, 1911, in the village of Beas Pind, Punjab. Young Fauja was scrawny and sick as a child, often bullied by other children who called him “danda”, Punjabi for “as thin as a stick.” Fauja did not develop the ability to walk until he was five years old. His legs were thin and weak, and he could hardly walk long distances.

He never went to school – instead, Fauja became a farmhand. Initially he would assist with odd chores like minding the cattle. But later, he began to help with tilling of the land and growing staple crops like wheat and maize.

Working hard in the fields, Fauja grew into a strapping lad, tall and handsome, his traumatic early years as a sickly thin child quickly forgotten. He’d now reached a marriageable age and his parents soon found him a suitable bride, Gian Kaur.

Fauja and Gian quickly settled into a domestic routine. Fauja worked on the farm and wife Gian Kaur managed the house. Over the years, they had six children, three boys and three girls.

The proud parents watched as the children grew up, completed their education and began looking for jobs to begin their careers. Also, now came the responsibility of getting them married. One by one the children married and/or found jobs abroad in Canada and England and left Punjab. All except one – Kuldip and his wife decided to stay back and help Fauja and Gian with the farm.

The years rolled by.

In 1992, Fauja’s wife Gian Kaur passed away. Fauja shed many tears but accepted his fate and carried on. He was 81 now, he’d come a long way.

Then, in 1994, tragedy struck again. His son Kuldip, who had been taking care of his parents all this time, was killed right in front of Fauja’s eyes in a construction accident. Fauja’s world turned upside down. His grief knew no bounds and life became empty for him thereon.

Now almost 83 and unable to bear the loss of his beloved wife and son, each day became a burden for Fauja. It was then that his children, who were by now well settled abroad, decided to bring their father to stay with them. Fauja eventually moved to London to stay with his son Sukhjinder and his family; this was in the late 1990s.

Though happy to be with his son, Fauja was still grieving inside; he just couldn’t come to terms with the loss of Kuldip, and his mind was still in India.

However, like many others his age, Fauja too may have soon come to turns with this tragedy, spent his old age with his children and died a peaceful death. But life was about to take a glorious turn for this octogenarian.

While watching television one evening, Fauja heard the anchor of a show inviting people to participate in the upcoming London marathon.

This woke Fauja up from his slumber; he was back to his childhood days when he used to run errands for the family, tearing up and down the village streets. Well, that was almost six decades or so ago; he was now 89, not a youngster by any means. Nevertheless, Fauja, who had by now taken tentative steps out of the house to enjoy an early morning jog with members of his community, decided he’d give the London marathon a try.

He, of course, had absolutely no clue what a marathon was.

Asking around, he was introduced to Harmander Singh, an athletic coach and a marathon runner himself.

Fauja explained to Harmander that he wanted to participate in the upcoming London marathon, hardly a couple of months away. Harmander is said to have shaken his head in disbelief. Fauja wouldn’t relent, he had made up his mind and nothing was going to change it. Eventually, Harmander agreed to coach Fauja.

Here is an oft-repeated anecdote from the first day of training: it is said that Fauja turned up for training in a three-piece suit. Harmander was taken aback and had to chide Fauja that this attire was not exactly suitable for running a marathon.

With coach Harmander guiding him, Fauja finally began his training in right earnest. At long last he had a new goal in life and he began to come out of his shell.

On race day of the 2000 London marathon, Fauja was one amongst the teeming tens of thousands who had turned up from around the world to participate in this prestigious event.

The race began and Fauja ran alongside his coach, Harmander Singh. Six hours and 54 minutes later, Fauja crossed the finish line – he had run 26 miles and 365 yards. At age 89, he was a marathoner, having just completed his first marathon race, the 2000 London marathon.

When asked how he managed to run the 26-mile marathon, Fauja replied: “The first 20 miles are not difficult. As for the last six miles, I run while talking to God.”

Fauja entered the London marathon again in 2001, but this time with a record at stake. He needed to beat 7 hours 52 minutes to be the fastest marathoner alive over age 90. He broke the record by 57 minutes!

When he turned 92, Fauja successfully competed in three marathons in the space of six and a half months, another remarkable record.

Fauja Singh would eventually become the oldest marathon runner, having participated in eight marathon races from 2000 to 2011.

His personal best would be achieved in the 2003 Toronto marathon in Canada, where he clocked an astonishing 5 hours 40 minutes in the 42.195 km race – a stunning record for a 92-year-old runner.

When asked about the secret of his running prowess and his longevity, Singh has said there is no secret formula: “My diet is simple — phulka, dal, green vegetables, yoghurt and milk. I take lots of water and tea with ginger. I go to bed early, taking the name of my rabba (God) as I don’t want all those negative thoughts crossing my mind.”

Source: The Better India

Walking On Water

I found this article at Mark and Angel, and it intrigued me quite a bit. I’m not sure that I agree with him, and I’m not even sure if it’s a true story or not. It did, however get me thinking about how my belief system affects my outcomes. So, here it is:

This past Sunday I was relaxing at the water’s edge of a local beach when a young boy ran full speed right by me and into the shallow surf. He continuously hopped up and down as he was running forward, kicking his little legs in the air and across the surface of the water before inevitably falling face-first into the waves. He got back up and repeated this act several times, each time with more determination than the previous attempt. It became obvious that he was trying to run across the surface of the water. I couldn’t help but to laugh. His combined levels of determination and exertion were priceless.

After several attempts, he noticed my laughter and walked over to me. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

“You remind me of me, and it makes me smile.” I said.

“Do you know how to walk on water?” he asked. “Like a superhero?”

“Well, I think I can help you out.” I said. “Let me give you a few pointers.”

Curious, the boy sat down on the sand next to me. His mother scurried over, worried… but I reassured her that her son wasn’t bothering me. Relieved, perhaps, to have her son sitting safely on the sand instead of flying face-first through the air, she went back to her beach chair 20 feet away and continued a conversation with another lady.

“So, you want to walk on water, eh?” I asked. He nodded his head anxiously.

A Rough Summary of What I Told Him

  • Make sure you were born to walk on water.

You must follow your heart, and be who you were born to be. Some of us were born to be musicians… to communicate intricate thoughts and rousing feelings with the strings of a guitar. Some of us were born to be poets… to touch people’s hearts with exquisite prose. Some of us were born to be entrepreneurs… to create growth and opportunity where others saw rubbish. And still, some of us were born to walk on water… to invent the capability of doing so. If you’re going to walk on water, you better feel it in every fiber of your being. You better be born to do it!

  • Decide that nothing can stop you.

Being born to walk on water isn’t enough by itself. We must each decide to accept our calling. Unfortunately, most of us make excuses instead. “But I might drown trying,” we say. Or, “But I have a family to think about first.” Walking on water, or doing anything that hasn’t been done before, requires absolute, unconditional dedication. The only person who can control your level of dedication is you. If you’re serious about walking on water, you must decide that nothing… not gravity, not a group of naysayers, NOTHING… can stop you!

  • Work on it for real.

While many of us decide at some point during the course of our lives that we want to answer our calling… to accomplish our own version of walking on water, only an astute few of us actually work on it. By “working on it”, I mean truly devoting oneself to the end result. The rest of us never act on our decision. Or, at best, we pretend to act on it by putting forth an uninspired, half-ass effort. But to truly walk on water, you’ll have to study physics, rheology, hydrophobic substances, etc… and then you’ll have to define and redefine next-generation theories and complex hypotheses, which must be tested relentlessly. When the tests fail, you must be ready to edit your theories and test them again. This kind of work, the real kind, is precisely what enables us to make the impossible possible.

  • Let the whole world know what you’re up to.

When you’re trying to walk on water, or do anything that nobody else has done before, life can get lonely pretty quickly. To keep your motivation thriving, it’s important to let others know that you’re attempting to defeat the formerly impossible. Don’t be shy! Let the whole world know that you’re trying to walk on water. No doubt, it’ll place a bit of extra pressure on your back, and you’ll almost certainly hear some laughter in the crowd. But this kind of pressure fuels motivation, which is exactly what you’ll need to accomplish such a colossal undertaking. And when you finally do succeed, the last bit of laughter heard will be your own.

  • Value the people who value your ambitions.

When most people hear about your “mission impossible” aspirations, their natural reaction may be to roll their eyes, call you crazy, and tell you to quit being foolish. But fortunately, the world is also inhabited by pioneers and believers who see the value in your dreams. These people understand that achieving the formerly impossible is one of the greatest gifts human beings possess. They’ll likely give you tips, bits of assistance, and the extra push you need to succeed. These are extraordinary people, and you’ll want to surround yourself with them, because they will ultimately assist you over the hurdles and across the surface of the water. Think of them as an influential, personal support team. Without them, walking on water will be a far more difficult feat, if not completely impossible.

  • Ignore the negative naysayers.

No matter how much progress you make, there will always be the people who insist that walking on water is impossible, simply because it hasn’t been done before. Or they may incessantly suggest that the idea as a whole is utterly ridiculous because nobody really cares about walking on water anyways. When you come across these people, don’t try to reason with them. Instead, forget that they exist. They will only waste your time and energy.

  • Prepare yourself for the pain.

Even though you’re no longer mindlessly running face-first into the oncoming ocean surf, but instead forming complex theories based on the studies of rheology and fluid viscosity, it doesn’t mean you won’t experience your fair share of pain. You’re in the business of walking on water, of doing something that has never been done before. You’ll likely get a waterlogged, lungful of water on a regular basis. But the pain will seem like a small price to pay when you become the first person to jog across the rapids of the Mississippi.

  • Enjoy the pain of your greatest challenge.

Superheroes aren’t real. In real life nobody has ever walked on water. But lots of people have achieved formerly impossible feats, and continue to enjoy the possibilities of new challenges. These people will all tell you there’s nothing more gratifying than the thrill of your greatest challenge. The inherent pains along the way are simply mile markers on your trip to the finish line. When you finally do finish, you may actually find yourself missing the daily grind. Ultimately, you’ll realize that pleasure and pain can be one and the same.

  • Never give up! Never quit!

The reason nobody has walked on water isn’t because people haven’t tried. Remember, you just tried several times in a row, and I’m sure many others have too. The reason nobody has succeeded is, simply, that within the scope of modern science and physics, it’s currently impossible. But this doesn’t mean that with your help it won’t become possible in the future. If you were born to do it and truly dedicate yourself to the end result, anything, including walking on water, is entirely possible!

Just a Chance

When we were done talking, the young boy got up and ran back over to his mother. He pointed over to me and I smiled and waved back. Then he said to her, “Mommy, mommy! That guy just taught me how to walk on water!”

A few moments later she walked over to scold me for supposedly giving out reckless advice. She told me I was giving her son a false sense of hope. I told her all I was giving him was a chance.

I Can Do Anything

I’m pretty sure we could all use some of this little girl’s energy, enthusiasm, and excitement about life!

Here’s a little more about this video:
Jessica has a day where she’s feeling … really good about her life.

++++FAQ for this video ++++

Q: How old was Jess at the time of the video?
A: She’d turned 4 about 6 weeks before the video was shot.

Q: How old is she now?
A: Depends on when you’re reading this, but she was born in late October of 1997.

Q: What does she say at the beginning?
A: Though some claim they hear the word “assert” – as in assertive – she’s actually saying I can be a “shark” – but it sounds like “sark” because she was incapable of making “sh” sounds at this time.

Q: Are you sure she’s not saying “I can be a SARK?” Her daily affirmations are consistent with the teachings of the author SARK.
A: This is an interesting coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless.

Q: Does she say, “I like my ‘elephants’?”
A: More than one person has thought that, but she’s actually saying I like my “Allisons.” Allison is her aunt.

Q: Does Jess have more than one mom? She says I like my “moms.”
A: No, she just has one mom and one dad (me.) For some reason she was “pluralizing” several things in her “like list.” That’s why she says “Allisons” and “cousins” (she only has one.)

Q: What does she say at the 22 second mark?
A: I really don’t know, though I do have a theory now: this video was taken right around Christmas-time, and it ALMOST sounds like she’s saying “I like my presents.” So that’s what I think it is – but I could be wrong.

Q: Did she do this affirmation every day?
A. Yes, until the age of seven. … Just kidding. 🙂 I think this was a day when the video camera was out, so there was an element of “putting on a show” – but Jessica still meant every word. Though she may have been hamming it up a bit, she was sincere in the things she was saying.

Q: Did you teach her that she could “anything better than anyone?” Isn’t that a little wrong?
A: Some people have had an issue with her saying this, but it’s not something that we taught her. And I’ve never seen her (even all these years later) say anything like this to anyone. I suspect it was probably the expression of some inner confidence that she just happened to express outwardly on this one particular day.

When You’re in a Slump

From Zen Habits, we have this article by Leo Babuata:
Get Off Your Butt: 16 Ways to Get Motivated When You’re in a Slump

Even the most motivated of us — you, me, Tony Robbins — can feel unmotivated at times. In fact, sometimes we get into such a slump that even thinking about making positive changes seems too difficult.

But it’s not hopeless: with some small steps, baby ones in fact, you can get started down the road to positive change.

Yes, I know, it seems impossible at times. You don’t feel like doing anything. I’ve been there, and in fact I still feel that way from time to time. You’re not alone. But I’ve learned a few ways to break out of a slump, and we’ll take a look at those today.

This post was inspired by reader Roy C. Carlson, who asked:

“I was wondering if you could do a piece on why it can be hard for someone to change direction and start taking control of their life. I have to say I’m in this boat and advice on getting out of my slump would be great.”

Roy is just one of many with a slump like that. Again, I feel that way sometimes myself, and in fact sometimes I struggle to motivate myself to exercise — and I’ll use that as an example of how to break out of the slump.

When I fall out of exercise, due to illness or injury or disruption from things going on in my life, it’s hard to get started again. I don’t even feel like thinking about it, sometimes. But I’ve always found a way to break out of that slump, and here are some things I’ve learned that have helped:

One Goal.

Whenever I’ve been in a slump, I’ve discovered that it’s often because I have too much going on in my life. I’m trying to do too much. And it saps my energy and motivation. It’s probably the most common mistake that people make: they try to take on too much, try to accomplish too many goals at once. You cannot maintain energy and focus (the two most important things in accomplishing a goal) if you are trying to do two or more goals at once. It’s not possible — I’ve tried it many times.

You have to choose one goal, for now, and focus on it completely. I know, that’s hard. Still, I speak from experience. You can always do your other goals when you’ve accomplished your One Goal.

Find inspiration.

Inspiration, for me, comes from others who have achieved what I want to achieve, or who are currently doing it. I read other blogs, books, magazines. I Google my goal, and read success stories. Zen Habits is just one place for inspiration, not only from me but from many readers who have achieved amazing things.

Get excited.

This sounds obvious, but most people don’t think about it much: if you want to break out of a slump, get yourself excited about a goal. But how can you do that when you don’t feel motivated? Well, it starts with inspiration from others (see above), but you have to take that excitement and build on it.

For me, I’ve learned that by talking to my wife about it, and to others, and reading as much about it as possible, and visualizing what it would be like to be successful (seeing the benefits of the goal in my head), I get excited about a goal. Once I’ve done that, it’s just a matter of carrying that energy forward and keeping it going.

Build anticipation.

This will sound hard, and many people will skip this tip. But it really works. It helped me quit smoking after many failed attempts. If you find inspiration and want to do a goal, don’t start right away. Many of us will get excited and want to start today. That’s a mistake.

Set a date in the future — a week or two, or even a month — and make that your Start Date. Mark it on the calendar. Get excited about that date. Make it the most important date in your life. In the meantime, start writing out a plan. And do some of the steps below. Because by delaying your start, you are building anticipation, and increasing your focus and energy for your goal.

Post your goal.

Print out your goal in big words. Make your goal just a few words long, like a mantra (“Exercise 15 mins. Daily”), and post it up on your wall or refrigerator. Post it at home and work. Put it on your computer desktop. You want to have big reminders about your goal, to keep your focus and keep your excitement going. A picture of your goal (like a model with sexy abs, for example) also helps.

Commit publicly.

None of us likes to look bad in front of others. We will go the extra mile to do something we’ve said publicly. For example, when I wanted to run my first marathon, I started writing a column about it in my local daily newspaper. The entire island of Guam (pop. 160K) knew about my goal. I couldn’t back down, and even though my motivation came and went, I stuck with it and completed it.

Now, you don’t have to commit to your goal in your daily newspaper, but you can do it with friends and family and co-workers, and you can do it on your blog if you have one. And hold yourself accountable — don’t just commit once, but commit to giving progress updates to everyone every week or so.

Think about it daily.

If you think about your goal every day, it is much more likely to become true. To this end, posting the goal on your wall or computer desktop (as mentioned above) helps a lot. Sending yourself daily reminders also helps. And if you can commit to doing one small thing to further your goal (even just 5 minutes) every single day, your goal will almost certainly come true.

Get support.

It’s hard to accomplish something alone. When I decided to run my marathon, I had the help of friends and family, and I had a great running community on Guam who encouraged me at 5K races and did long runs with me.

When I decided to quit smoking, I joined an online forum and that helped tremendously. And of course, my wife Eva helped every step of the way. I couldn’t have done these goals without her, or without the others who supported me. Find your support network, either in the real world or online, or both.

Realize that there’s an ebb and flow.

Motivation is not a constant thing that is always there for you. It comes and goes, and comes and goes again, like the tide. But realize that while it may go away, it doesn’t do so permanently. It will come back. Just stick it out and wait for that motivation to come back. In the meantime, read about your goal (see below), ask for help (see below), and do some of the other things listed here until your motivation comes back.

Stick with it.

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Even if you aren’t feeling any motivation today, or this week, don’t give up. Again, that motivation will come back. Think of your goal as a long journey, and your slump is just a little bump in the road. You can’t give up with every little bump. Stay with it for the long term, ride out the ebbs and surf on the flows, and you’ll get there.

Start small. Really small.

If you are having a hard time getting started, it may be because you’re thinking too big. If you want to exercise, for example, you may be thinking that you have to do these intense workouts 5 days a week. No — instead, do small, tiny, baby steps. Just do 2 minutes of exercise. I know, that sounds wimpy. But it works. Commit to 2 minutes of exercise for one week. You may want to do more, but just stick to 2 minutes. It’s so easy, you can’t fail. Do it at the same time, every day. Just some crunches, 2 pushups, and some jogging in place. Once you’ve done 2 minutes a day for a week, increase it to 5, and stick with that for a week. In a month, you’ll be doing 15-20.

Want to wake up early? Don’t think about waking at 5 a.m. Instead, think about waking 10 minutes earlier for a week. That’s all. Once you’ve done that, wake 10 minutes earlier than that. Baby steps.

Build on small successes.

Again, if you start small for a week, you’re going to be successful. You can’t fail if you start with something ridiculously easy. Who can’t exercise for 2 minutes? (If that’s you, I apologize.) And you’ll feel successful, and good about yourself. Take that successful feeling and build on it, with another baby step. Add 2-3 minutes to your exercise routine, for example. With each step (and each step should last about a week), you will feel even more successful. Make each step really, really small, and you won’t fail. After a couple of months, your tiny steps will add up to a lot of progress and a lot of success.

Read about it daily.

When I lose motivation, I just read a book or blog about my goal. It inspires me and reinvigorates me. For some reason, reading helps motivate and focus you on whatever you’re reading about. So read about your goal every day, if you can, especially when you’re not feeling motivated.

Call for help when your motivation ebbs.

Having trouble? Ask for help. Join an online forum. Get a partner to join you. Call your mom. It doesn’t matter who, just tell them your problems, and talking about it will help. Ask them for advice. Ask them to help you overcome your slump. It works.

Think about the benefits, not the difficulties.

One common problem is that we think about how hard something is. Exercise sounds so hard! Just thinking about it makes you tired. But instead of thinking about how hard something is, think about what you will get out of it. For example, instead of thinking about how tiring exercise can be, focus on how good you’ll feel when you’re done, and how you’ll be healthier and slimmer over the long run. The benefits of something will help energize you.

Squash negative thoughts.

Squash negative thoughts; replace them with positive ones. Along those lines, it’s important to start monitoring your thoughts. Recognize negative self-talk, which is really what’s causing your slump. Just spend a few days becoming aware of every negative thought. Then, after a few days, try squashing those negative thoughts like a bug, and then replacing them with a corresponding positive thought.

Squash, “This is too hard!” and replace it with, “I can do this! If that wimp Leo can do it, so can I!” It sounds corny, but it works. Really.

Getting Started Is Everything

From Life Hacker, we have this article on getting started:

Nothing’s better than sinking your teeth into a satisfying after-hours side project—or what I guess most people may just call a hobby. But after 10 hours at work, it’s not always easy to muster the energy to switch off your TV and go to work on your project. The trick I use is simple, self-evident, and it works. Getting started is everything.

Here’s a scenario ripped from the headlines (of my life):

It’s a Wednesday night. I’m exhausted from a bad night of sleep and a long day of work. I’m hungry, so I make some food and eat while catching up on an episode of Fear The Walking Dead (which is relatively awful). I eat, I finish the episode, and suddenly all the momentum I’d planned to carry into working on my side project that night has seeped out of my pores, absorbed by couch cushions. Shit.

Shit.

Maybe, instead of working on my passion project, I should just keep catching up on Fear The Walking Dead, even though I’m not actually enjoying it! I’m already convinced that continuing on my current self-destructive downward spiral is the only option I’ve got the energy for, so this seems like the inevitable outcome of my night.

But damn it, I should really do some work. It’s not even work. It’s a hobby I enjoy—far more than I enjoy watching a show about zombies that’s actually a tedious soap opera that happens to occasionally have a zombie in it. And I know that tomorrow, I’ll absolutely regret that I spent hours watching people argue about how to be civilized when zombies want to eat you instead of actually making something.

At this point, I make a deal with myself that makes all the difference. I’ve finished eating, and I’ve finished the episode I watched with dinner. Instead of jumping into the next episode, I convince myself to spend ten minutes on my project. Just ten minutes. Enough time to accomplish one small task. Then, after that ten minutes is up, I can go back to zombies, guilt-free, if I so choose.

The beautiful thing is, I almost never do. Getting started is everything, and once I’ve accomplished one small task, I’m ready (and excited) to tackle another. And another. And that’s how, instead of wasting my night on TV that I’m not that into, I actually get something done.

It doesn’t always work that way, but it doesn’t have to. Even if all I did was ten minutes of work and then went back to zombies (which happens on occasion), I still knocked out one small task. But more often than not, finishing 10 minutes of work launches me into an enjoyable hour or two of progress. Better luck next time, zombies.

This isn’t a new idea by any means, but having successfully employed it recently, I felt like talking about it. If you’ve got your own tried and true method for getting to work when you’re not exactly excited bursting with energy or overflowing with excitement at the prospect, we’d love to hear it in the comments.

It’s Rocket Science

Newton’s Third Law of Motion states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Anyone else experiencing this? When it comes to things I don’t want to do, I find that the harder I try to push myself, the stronger my resistance is. When I’m feeling pushed by life… or people… the same thing happens. My inner mule comes out, and I push back. I thought this was me being stubborn, now I find out that its simple rocket science!

Here’s a simplified explanation from Live Science:

Forces always occur in pairs; when one body pushes against another, the second body pushes back just as hard. For example, when you push a cart, the cart pushes back against you; when you pull on a rope, the rope pulls back against you; and when gravity pulls you down against the ground, the ground pushes up against your feet. The simplified version of this phenomenon has been expressed as, “You cannot touch without being touched.”

One might ask, “If the two forces are equal and opposite, why do they not cancel each other out?” Actually, in some cases they do. Consider a book resting on a table. The weight of the book pushes down on the table, while the table pushes up on the book with an equal and opposite force. In this case, the forces cancel each other because the book does not accelerate. The reason for this is that both forces are acting on the same body, while Newton’s Third Law describes two different bodies acting on each other.

If one object is much, much more massive than the other, particularly in the case of the first object being anchored to the Earth, virtually all of the acceleration is imparted to the second object, and the acceleration of the first object can be safely ignored. For instance, if you were to plant your feet and throw a baseball to the west, you would not have to consider that you actually caused the rotation of the Earth to speed up slightly while the ball was in the air. However, if you were standing on roller skates, and you threw a bowling ball forward, you would start moving backward at a noticeable speed.

Consider a horse and a cart. The horse pulls on the cart, and the cart pulls back on the horse. The two forces are equal and opposite, so why does the cart move at all? The reason is that the horse is also exerting a force on the ground, which is external to the horse–cart system, and the ground exerts a force back on the horse–cart system causing it to accelerate.

How, then, can a rocket move through space if there is nothing for it to push against? When the fuel is ignited in the rocket nozzle, the gas expands rapidly in all directions. Some of it goes backwards and has no effect on the rocket; however, some if it goes forward and crashes into the back of the rocket exerting a force that causes the rocket to accelerate in the forward direction. This is why Newton’s Third Law is considered to be the fundamental principle of rocket science.

Another explanation:

What did Newton mean when he said action? He meant — at any instant — force, or, over time, a change in momentum. So if you punch your enemy in the face … your fist exerts a force on his face, and his face exerts an equal and opposite force on your fist.

And, if you use a small gunpowder explosion to change the momentum of a bullet, the equal and opposite reaction is the equal and opposite change in momentum of you holding the gun, known commonly as recoil.

It pays to be aware of this.

But this also means you can’t exert a net force on yourself, and you can’t change your own momentum without also changing something else’s momentum by an equal and opposite amount!

Newton’s Second Law

Newton’s second law–When a force acts on an object, the object accelerates in the direction of the force. This means that objects with more mass require more force to move the same distance as lighter objects.

Which of these two will be the easiest to move?

Which brings me to thinking about the “roadblocks” in my life, the obstacles, the “stuff” and the problems that I can’t seem to overcome. How much weight do I give them? How much mass have they achieved over the years? Just how “big” are they in relation to my wished for and dreamed of alternatives?

So, what does this mean in real life?

First of all, I think it explains why it’s so much easier to set small, easy, or fun tasks as goals and actually get them accomplished. For example, one of my granddaughters set a goal for this project that she would spend equal time with both of her dogs. She’s doing an excellent job of achieving that goal because it’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s something she enjoys doing.

It also explains why it’s so much easier to file my tax return the day it’s due, rather than filing early. The force of the IRS is way stronger than my resistance to filling out paperwork. So, it does get done.

I’m pretty sure that if my mother was coming for a visit, and going to stay with me, I’d have that faucet replaced … and the house cleaned… and the lawn mowed … and the car washed…. all done before she got here. Obviously, a visit from my mother carries more “weight” and has more “force” than my own sort of day dreamy idea of having a working faucet.


Obviously, it’s way easier to kick a soccer ball than it is to kick a brick wall.

And yet, how many times do we set ourselves up for failure by not taking into account the “brick wall” we are trying to move?

How many motivational memes, how much self recrimination, how many self help books will help this little guy succeed in kicking that brick wall all the way out into left field?

I’d say… none! Something more is needed.

So, what’s the brick wall that you’re running into? What is your wall made of, why is it so solid, how much mass does it have, how much weight have you given it, how much space does it take up… Figure these things out, and you might be well on your way to actually making some real progress.

9 Quick Tricks for Overcoming Inertia

Inertia is a scientific fact. As a matter of fact, it’s Newton’s First Law.

  • Objects at rest stay at rest.
  • Objects in motion stay in motion.

Newton’s first law of motion states that “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

Objects tend to “keep on doing what they’re doing.” In fact, it is the natural tendency of objects to resist changes in their state of motion. This tendency to resist changes in their state of motion is described as inertia.

  • Inertia: the resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion.

You can beat inertia by simply making yourself take action in a different direction.  Get moving. DO SOMETHING – do anything that will pull you out of your current most comfortable state.

  • Watching TV? Turn the television off and go outside.
  • Trolling Facebook? Log out and take a shower.

Whatever activity or inactivity you seem to be stuck in, knock yourself out of that flow and into a new one. Don’t just think about it. Take a deep breath and actually DO it.

And, just in case you need to put it off DOING something for just a few more minutes, we have here, from  Always Well Within, a mix of methods to rouse yourself out of inertia and inaction. Read through them. According to the author, one of them almost always works. Be skillful by choosing one that fits your particular circumstances and mood.

  1. Just get started. Do anything to get the energy and inspiration moving. Start anywhere: in the beginning, middle or end.
  2. Remove distractions. Knowing you are prone to inertia, don’t let distractions lure you away from your goal.
  3. Have a preset plan for your project. Then follow it no matter what.
  4. Do the fun parts to get out of your funk. I know it sounds like cheating, but it really gets the juices flowing again.
  5. Remember your purpose and rekindle your belief in your work.
  6. Allow yourself to do a mindless task for a short but set amount of time. Then get on with your work in progress.
  7. Taking a nap always refreshes me and makes me more enthusiastic to get back on track.
  8. Go for a walk and get some fresh air. The luxury of space and increased oxygen to your brain can easily refresh your view.
  9. Take a day off and thoroughly enjoy your self. We all have lulls in our motivation. It’s OK for you to have one too.

The brain needs downtime to replenish itself. Inertia may be a sign that you are not taking enough mental breaks during the day, which are crucial to increase productivity and boost attention. Inertia might also indicate it’s time to check in with yourself to see if this is the right project for you.

No More Excuses!

Get moving, get doing, get started!

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