Discouragement is probably the most likely thing that would dislodge a person’s dedication to a good habit such as the 365 commitment. I supposed a giant lava flow running through your house might be the second thing. A few people I know would argue that sickness or tragedy are also top contenders. However, I like to focus things I have control over. So of the things that I have control over, I think discouragement is the worst.
The thing about discouragement is that it comes at you out of nowhere. Usually you are not expecting it, you just get a feeling of discouragement and it is hard to fight. It is probably something brewing for a while, just under the surface and then something happens, someone tells you something, or you have a setback and then that angst that had been building up flares out as full blown discouragement.
Now I said I had control over discouragement. Well that is not entirely true. What I have control over is what I do when dealing with discouragement. One thing that I have decided NOT to do, is to abandon my commitments. If I have committed to it, and written it down, then I am going to rise at dawn and do my 365 commitment with or without discouragement along the way.
The funny thing about discouragement is that it all talk. Imagine the playground as a child, the stereo typical bully was a lot of talk, but the second someone stands up to him/her and punches them in the nose – they run away crying. That is discouragement – the school yard bully. All you have to do is stand up to discouragement, punch it in the nose and get on with your lifelong ambitions.
I think the way you do that is by waking up in the morning anyway, breaking open the notebook that you keep your 365 commitment in, and start another day.
Just like success, failure and discouragement are solved for one small increment at a time.
Guy Reams (122)
365 Member
