Less than adequate sleep, a tiring day, an enticing new Netflix series, one more YouTube
video.
Attention demanding social media apps, activities, friends, family and kids.
Fantastic reasons to not do the work.
Who could deny it?
But you must, you must do the work.
You will be tired today, and you will be tired a year from now.
The incremental amount of work you do.
The tiny 30 min chunks of time you set aside every day to write your book, to create your
content, to chase after the future you — That will be the defining factor in your success
a year from now.
You must understand.
You need to remind yourself.
You have to look in the mirror every single day and say to yourself — Just because I
don’t feel like it, doesn’t mean I can’t do it.
There are too many people crushed, depressed and utterly disappointed in themselves for
not doing the work.
Forget the past.
Today is a new day, and there is nothing stopping you from starting.
Know this.
You always have the power to do the work.
Always.
The world is perpetuated with the idea that you need to ‘feel like it’ to do the work.
You don’t.
You could feel like doing anything else.
All you have to do in that moment, is to sit down and do the work.
It sounds simple, and it is.
Procrastination is ever present and your attention will be forever fought for.
It’s a fact of life.
Self control, preemptive measures, focusing strategies and all the rest can greatly support
you in your quest to do the work.
But in the end, you must rely on yourself to actually do it.
It’s a commitment from present you, to future you.
If you don’t know where to start, here’s a simple guide.
Imagine you’re on a Plane, and your destination is future you.
The flight is your work time.
Keep your phone in airplane mode for the duration of your flight.
No social media, no messages, no distractions.
Don’t miss the flight.
You need to be on board at a certain time, prepared.
There’s not much around you, you’re not distracted, you sit down with only the essentials
to occupy yourself throughout the flight.
You’re quiet and courteous.
You’re in the zone.
You’ve heard these tips before, you know they’re effective, you know they’re nothing
new.
You know what to do and how to go about it.
All you have to do is to put them to use.
You will always encounter resistance in one form or another.
Procrastination, opportunity cost, the fight for your attention and worst of all, fear.
Fear of failure, fear of exclusion, fear of missing out.
It’s ever present.
“The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work.
The professional knows that fear can never be overcome.”
You’re a professional.
Whether you’re aspiring or practicing.
Professionals sit down and do the work.
There’s nothing stopping you but yourself.
The internal struggle exists.
It’s a curse and it’s a blessing.
The curse; You’re your own obstacle.
The blessing; If it’s only you, then you have the power.
You can choose.
At any time, you can commit to sitting down and just doing.
Practice makes perfect.
And as a professional, you sure as hell practice.
I won’t wish you luck, because you don’t need that — you’ll get there without it.