I just don’t feel like it 🤷🏻♀️
Hi,
I recently shared a quote on my socials to see what kind of reaction it would get.
You found it hard-hitting—some of you felt there was some truth in it, but that it wasn’t the whole picture. Here’s the quote. It’s taken from a book by Ryan Holiday*, an excellent writer known for his interest in stoicism and discipline.
To procrastinate is to be entitled. It is arrogant. It assumes there will be a later. It assumes you'll have the discipline to get to it later (despite not having the discipline now).
Forty-seven per cent of you said it was harsh, while fifty-three per cent said it was harsh but true.
I’d say it’s harsh, it’s true, but it isn’t the whole story. Yes, discipline is needed when we’re putting things off, but is that the only answer?
I’m working on a big project and can’t wait to tell you about it, though I can’t just yet. When I sat down to work on it this past week, finding the motivation was hard. There was no immediate reward, and it felt flipping difficult. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do it; it was more that it felt so big, so overwhelming, that I just didn’t know where to start. And what makes me think I can do it anyway?
So, how did I get going? I used my personality to WORK FOR ME, not against me.
I gave myself some external accountability (I’m a reforming people pleaser), broke the job down into manageable daily chunks with targets, talked to others about it (I’m an external processor), and reminded myself of the why beneath the work.
I think before we can do the thing, or even find the motivation to do the thing, we have to work out why we aren’t doing the thing. It could be that, beneath the lack of motivation, one of these resistors is at play:
I have to do it (rather than it being something that I want to do, I have no choice in the matter)
I don’t feel right about this (perhaps crossing your values yet again—prioritising the wrong things, or staying late at the office and missing bedtime too many times)
I can’t do this—we don’t feel we have the skills to do it
I don’t want to do it
Before I sign off, as usual, here’s a quote, stat and question to get you thinking.
1 quote: “Your actions reveal how badly you want something. If you keep saying something is a priority but you never act on it, then you don’t really want it. It’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself. Your actions reveal your true motivations.” – James Clear
1 stat: According to YouGov, as we age, we’re less motivated by goals, money, and others’ enthusiasm, and more by our partner, nature, and family.
1 question: What kind of resistance tends to hold you back the most—obligation, misalignment with values, self-doubt, or lack of desire? How might reframing or addressing this resistance help you make progress?
Love,
Hannah x
P.S. There are some BIG changes to the podcast starting next week! Watch this space to find out more! P.P.S. If you want to read more where that quote came from, Ryan’s book is called Discipline is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control.