Writing online has taught me so much about creativity, discipline, and motivation. I didn’t learn them from some books or articles. The lessons came naturally to me as I wrote hundreds of articles.
The best lessons in life are those learned through experience.
In the early days of writing, I struggled a lot with new ideas. So, I’d write something only when I was motivated and inspired. I kept waiting for a good idea to strike me.
When I did that, I noticed that ideas didn’t come to me consistently. For instance, I’d have brilliant ideas some days that would motivate me to write. And the next day? Nothing — no idea, no inspiration, and no motivation.
It sucked.
Sometimes, I’d have to wait for weeks just to find the right idea. My motivation would drop so low that I’d even think of quitting. “Writing is not for me.”
It took me months of experience to understand that motivation isn’t something that happens to you, especially when you are in a deep search for it.
- “I’ll write when I’m motivated.”
- “I’ll work out when I’m motivated.”
- “I’ll edit the video when I’m motivated.”
If you think like this, you won’t achieve anything significant in what you do.
The problem is that most people think that you can only take action when you are motivated. That’s exactly the opposite of what they actually should do.
Relying on motivation never works because it’s inconsistent. Think about this: What if you are motivated only once a week? Will you stop taking action for the rest of the week? That won’t bring any significant outcome.
The truth is, motivation is the result of action.
Read that again!
When you start with action, you make progress. It doesn’t matter if the action is small and so is the progress. What matters is that you start.
- If you want to write, start typing a few sentences. Don’t worry if they aren’t good. Just start.
- If you want to edit a video, start by clipping it or opening your editor and making a minor change.
- If you want to work out, start by stretching or doing 10 push-ups.
It doesn’t matter how big or small the action you take. What matters is that you take it.
Understand this: little progress is still progress, and it’s better than no progress. Once you stay long enough to do some work, you will find the motivation to continue it. However, if you do nothing and wait for motivation, you won’t make any progress.
Finding motivation is easy. You just have to start taking action. It doesn’t matter if it’s small. Just act.
Motivation isn’t in your control. But taking action is. Action leads to motivation, which leads to more action, which leads to significant progress.
