When you have children the one thing that they say to you that absolutely never works is, but I do not feel like it. You tell them do your homework, or clean your room, or take out the trash. They inevitably will say they do not feel like it. Even after repeating this about 1000 times, they will still try that excuse first. This is not because they are dumb, it is because they are human. Guess what? You do this to. Except you are an adult and you do not have anyone standing over you with authority forcing you to do it. You have only yourself to motivate you. So now when you use the excuse, I do not feel like it, that excuse can actually work. I am afraid to say that it does work and it we use that excuse to delay or put off important things frequently and often.
So here is a pro-tip in self improvement. One of the first things that you have to overcome when deciding to make a commitment for improvement in life is the idea that you need to feel like doing it. Just forget that right now. You will hardly ever “feel like it.” So I have been running everyday for a few years now. Many people look at you slack jawed when you say that. Everyone, except for other runners that is. However, do I feel like running everyday? Absolutely not. Most days I do not feel like running. In fact, I would say that about 90% of the time I do not immediately feel like running. Same with my 5am habit. Almost every single day, I do not feel like waking up at 5am. However, I do it anyway.
You have to completely and absolutely give up on the notion that you need to feel like doing something before you do it. That is just never going to happen. I think people mistake will power, motivation with feeling like doing something. That is their downfall. Oh, I just don’t feel like doing that today. The second you say that, and decide not to do it, you are done. Habit destroyed, commitment fails. It is an absolute core principle of habit formation, of keeping commitments that you remove the concept of requiring that you feel like doing something before you do it. Most the time, in the early days, you will not feel like it at all. You will start to dread it. You will be absolutely miserable about the prospect of doing it.
You need to tell your whining little punk self to shut the bleep up and do it anyway. Repeat. Everyday. Commitment.
Guy Reams
