More Motivation to Move (if only for a moment)
“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
Steven King said this about writing (On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft), but I think it can be used in a universal way to include anything that you begin. It’s the beginning that’s either the scariest or just plain difficult. Whether it’s leaving your house to exercise, deciding to make that trip happen, quitting your job and going out on your own, looking for a publisher for your book, sending a query letter to an agent, or just leaving your house to go for a walk, the beginning can be the scariest moment. Why? Can’t we use the Nike slogan, “Just do it!” here? Why is the scariest moment always just before you start? My theory is that it’s all in the ability to motivate yourself. Taking yourself past all the worries, negative self-talk, and the desire to curl up and nap.
Gosh, that pillow looks incredibly comfortable right now, a fresh clean pillowcase on it, smelling like spring and sunshine. Wouldn’t it feel so delicious under my head, the soft cotton scrunched under my face? And my eyes, they’re so heavy, don’t they want to slide closed? Just for a minute?
Only for a minute.
But once I go down that rabbit hole, what would motivate me to do something? To get out of bed? Why not just sleep, rest, cuddle all day long? It’s raining outside, isn’t that what God made fall for? For cuddling up and napping?
No.
First of all, I’ve already gotten out of bed and started the day, why would I go backward in my day and plop myself right back where I started? Seems counter-intuitive. Ever forward, I say. Never backward.
But that pillow looks so inviting. And the dog, my little Cooper, looks so comfortable. Maybe he has the right idea, laying down, napping. Ah, that’s the life. Dogs sure know how to live.
But now, I’ve got to get motivated to…
[Fill in the blank]
And to be honest, I’m not at home in my bedroom looking at my pillow and doggie. I was motivated this morning to wake up, get ready for the day, and come to the office. What motivated me? What motivates anyone to do anything? Sometimes you do what you do because you must do it. You’ve made commitments, you’ve made choices, and people expect certain things from you.
And sometimes you get to make the conscious choice to do something.
What is your conscious choice today? What are you doing? Do you plan out your day, or go with the flow (or both)? I find that I’m more productive if I plan out my day. My motivation comes from being able to check those things off my list. Then with each step that I take toward a list completed, I feel like I did something useful that day. Even if I ended up not completing that book, or not finishing that story, or not getting a new client, I still had a great day because I checked everything off my list. (Although a new client would also motivate me. 😊)
So, here’s your writing prompt for today.
Writing Prompt: What do you want to do, that you haven’t done yet? Is it a trip you want to take? Is it an instrument you want to learn how to play? Is it something you did as a kid that you’d like to do again? Why haven’t you done it yet? What is holding you back? What would motivate you to “Just do it?” Do you agree with Steven King when he says, “The scariest moment is always just before you start.” How do you feel about my theory that it’s scary to start something because you haven’t found that one thing that would motivate you to “just do it?”
My motivation to come into the office today is this moment. I look out my huge window at the Vancouver skyline, I sit in front of my computer and watch the airplanes fly past my window, I listen to the church bells, and I watch the clouds move across the sky. And write. This place, and this business, is my moment.
