It may never come…
Even when you love something, there will be days when you don't feel like doing it.
Sometimes, you'll wake up feeling tired, down, or unmotivated.
The people making the most progress are the ones who don't let these feelings hold them back.
Those who do the thing only when they feel great
If you have to feel motivated to go after what you want, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Let's use writing as an example.
Imagine you love to write. You do it for fun and would continue to do it even if nobody paid you.
But some days, you inevitably wake up and don't feel like writing.
Let's pretend this happens 2 out of 10 days.
If you wake up on those days and accept that you won't write, you're missing out on opportunities to make progress.
These days are hidden opportunities.
Opportunities to develop your craft even when you don't feel like it.
These days are hard. If you are able to push through on these low days, you'll get a sense of pride. You'll know that you were able to do the thing even when you didn't feel like it.
You got to the gym for a workout and just went through the motions.
You showed up to work and did the best you could.
By just showing up, you make slow, incremental progress that you wouldn't have made otherwise.
Those who do the thing no matter what
These people are different from the people who only take action when they feel like it.
They wake up and do the thing. How motivated they are or how they're feeling matters less.
Engaging in the activity is part of their identity. They do it every day.
Rain or shine.
Let's think of an example of two basketball players. For whatever reason, they are exactly equal in skill level.
They both make 20% of the shots they take.
If player A takes 1,000 shots, but player B only takes 800 shots, who will score more baskets at the end of the day?
It'll be player A.
The better person will be the one who gives themselves more opportunities to improve.
Even if the person who throws in the towel on bad days only does so 10% of the time, there will be many missed opportunities to improve.
Reflect on the activities you do in your daily life.
Think about which person you are in each activity.
Try to figure out a way to become the person who just does the thing no matter what.
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