What do we need to achieve our goals? Is it motivation? No, it’s not. As David Goggins says, “Motivation is crap”. Motivation is just a temporary state. What’s really necessary is discipline, and putting in thousands of hours. Whether you plan to lose weight, run 100 miles, or be financially independent, you must work hard consistently.
There will be many days when your brain screams at you, “Your heart rate is above the sky, just stop!” or it whispers distractions like “Reading about investing is so boring, just go and watch a comedy!” It’s not your fault. Evolution has made us seek comfort.
Over the years, I have constantly pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I learned to acknowledge those negative thoughts, and to ignore them. However, there is still one question that often makes me stop: “Why are you doing this?” Whenever it happens, my brain goes into a rabbit hole: “What if you are wasting all these hours for nothing useful?”, “Is this goal meaningful?”.
Committing to something is time-consuming. Unfortunately, we have limited time on Earth. That’s why I am often so afraid to focus on the “wrong” thing. Maybe at this point, you are expecting a life-changing reflection. Sorry, this is not the case.
What I’ve learned so far is a very simple fact: the process is never a waste of time. Working hard towards a goal inevitably sparks positive side effects. If you gamble your future by moving to a foreign country, you will meet like-minded people, you will be forced to adapt to new environments, and you will be more comfortable with change. If you train hard weekly, you will develop self-discipline, you will learn to be obsessed, and you will pay more attention to your nutrition and sleep. You see? Plenty of side effects!
Dedication requires time investment. The first lesson of the process is about patience. Don’t be like the many “New Year’s resolutioners” who abandon the gym after a week. Consistency is the key.
This leads to the second lesson of the process: learn to say no. No to skipping the run because of rain. No to going to parties and getting wasted. No to skipping the workout today because you are tired. Managing both your time and energy is a must to maintain consistency.
Let me finish with a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger from his book Be Useful: “There is no plan B. If there is any, it’s to make plan A successful.” I love it because I’ve experienced it personally. Whenever I give myself a way out, I always regret taking it. On the contrary, whenever I was laser-focused on the original plan, I always found strength somewhere hidden which helped me to push to the end. This is a recent realization, thus I am in the process of changing my mind to not even considering second options.
Stick to the plan, keep it consistent, and believe in the process. Maybe my goals are meaningless, but I’ll never know if I don’t try, right?