Motivating Yourself: Just Do It

That famous catch phrase from a Nike ad campaign had it right, especially when it comes to motivating yourself. Just do it. Three tiny words that can have a powerful impact on whether or not to stay in stasis, or to move forward.

            More often than not it is fear that can paralyze us in indecision. (A short side note: we may think it is indecision when in reality by not deciding we are choosing not to do anything. Being aware of it is important. When people say “I couldn’t. I had no choice,” that was a choice.) By not making a choice or taking action, by delaying, by giving excuses, by rationalizing, we are only becoming an obstacle to motivating ourselves. We are giving in to the fear.

            Once we are aware of this—and even better, aware of what exactly it is we are afraid of—it becomes so much easier to just do whatever it takes to get our goal. Other times it pays to simply stop pontificating or analyzing and to simply take a step forward, however small it may seem. Thought and deliberation have their place; however, it pays much more to realize when you are deliberating, and when you are simply delaying what needs to be done. Forget about how you need the perfect ambiance before you write; throw away the conception that you need to be inspired before you work out. Instead of agonizing how to start an article, just write a sentence. Any sentence. But start. The same can be said for daily workouts, for getting up early, for doing any dreaded task. Just do it. Because we can only drive ourselves crazy just thinking about doing it.

            At the end of whatever task that needed to be done, we can regard ourselves with a sense of accomplishment. And that can generate some of the best kind of motivational energy there is.