There are days when we feel absolutely shit. In those days, we might not feel like doing our work.

However, it’s very important to do our work even if we don’t feel like it. Every day! Even if we’re not in our best form - that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we do our work.

Many people talk about motivation.

The problem with motivation is that, in those shitty days, motivation is suddenly nowhere to be found. Motivation is like one of those people who is your friend when everything’s great, but when things get hard, this guy is gone - out of the window.

As David Goggins says: “You need to be driven”.

This means you have to want it bad - whatever your goal is. And these shitty days will test you how bad you want it. If you skip a day as soon as you don’t feel like it on that day, then you don’t really want it. You only wish and hope.

Another thing is that we put too much emphasis on the end result. However, we should really put the focus on the doing itself. Forget about the goal for a second and just focus on the action itself.

Trust that if you simply do the thing, at one point, you will get there. Focusing on the goal doesn’t help - the goal might seem miles away, further deteriorating our will. Focusing on the action is better - just do the thing, and that’s it — one step at a time.

That doesn’t mean to forget your goal. It means to not focus on it. Keep your goal on your mind, but put the focus on doing the action itself. After all, it’s the action that matters, not thinking about the end result.

This is hard because we want to see instant results. If we don’t see results right away, we start to doubt whether or not there’s even a point to keep going. But if you think about your actions rationally, you realize that if you keep doing that action, it will, at one point, get you to the result you want. If not, then modify the action.

Writing is a good example. If you write every day, you will get better. It might take time, but it will happen.

Or losing weight - you might not see immediate results, but you know that if you stick to your diet, changes will occur.

Also, when you skip a day, it’s not an isolated event. E.g., we might think that if we skip the gym once, then it’s an isolated event and an exception.

However, skipping a gym session will affect your whole character. You will train yourself to give in more easily, and therefore, it affects everything else you do. You become more lenient on yourself, and before you know it, the exception has become the norm.

KRISTJAN