Sometimes you lay there, snuggled up in your sheets, waiting to fall asleep, when your brain starts talking to you.
You: *Gets ready to sleep*
Brain: Ready?
You: Ready.
Brain: Goodnight.
You: Goodnight.
Brain: …
You: …
Brain: You know, I have been thinking that we should probably start improving our life and be more productive.
You: You think so too?
Brain: Yeah. We could start by priming the first hour of the day by doing the right things. Like going for that morning run. It’s simple, just put one foot in front of the other.
You: Hell yeah. And it’s going to be just us, the asphalt, the sweat, the clarity, the rush of feel-good hormones, the runner’s high!
Brain: Not only will that provide you with the psychological and physiological benefits, running will set you in a positive mood for the day!
You: Already I am feeling all fired up and ready to “do it”.
*throws a fist full of glitter in the air*
And then, of course, morning comes round and you really don’t have the same spark in you.
It’s like it disappeared overnight.
You know this feeling, don’t you?
The brain loves being a dick. It knows that the day is already over and it’s bedtime and you can’t actually be acting on stuff. A cleverly devised ruse to get you all excited and pumped up about stuff – without having to do any of them.
So, hello Brain. We are aware of you.
We are aware that this massively hyped up motivation is fleeting, temporary.
And that you are trying to give us the notion that the task will feel more do-able at some time in the future than it is right now, except it isn’t.
Then it turns into some vicious loop because tomorrow is a lot like today and you will play the same card once more.
So how do we take the Brain by the horns and stop procrastinating?
Here’s the prescription: Fuck Yes! And hit the green button.
Step 1: You will need something punchy to curse. Because cursing is good for the soul. It makes you feel as if you can get through anything. So, FUCK YES.
Step 2: Identify that one teeny-weeny step, the baby of all baby steps, nevermind it be ridiculously simple and trivial. Just something, anything.
Step 3: Do it right away.
Oh, you didn’t get that? Look I’ll give you some examples.
A morning run? Fuck yes! I will put on my running attire now and sleep in it.
Writing an article? Fuck yes! I will write the first paragraph now before hitting the sack.
Send out a particular email? Fuck yes! I will type out the subject and save it as a draft now.
FUCK YES and start doing something right away. Use your energy when you have it. Commit to it. Make it happen because an action is what fuels the motivation-fire and keeps it secretly burning within.
Then you can sleep. No problem.
Because you have taken the first teeny-weeny step, so you will magically crave more of it the next morning.
Build the habit of starting, feed it and continuously satisfy it.
It is not that doing the task is hard, it is starting the work. Once you begin, your perception often shifts and it feels less daunting to do the task.
Do it, and then you will feel motivated to do it.— Zig ZiglarClick To Tweet
Bedtime twists back around once again. Your motivation is flowing. Your enthusiasm is bubbling. I mean, what more do you need? Take advantage of that energy. Fuck yes and sally forth. You will be on your way to checking items off your bucket list before you know it.
