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When we're staring at a morning clock with our face struggling to bench press our eyelids, we're likely seeking some motivation that will help us slither out of bed and into our money-making outfits to kickstart our days.
Motivation, as I'm talking here, is that sudden surge you get after reading something inspiring, or briefly seeing things in a new way, or the jolt you get from exercise or coffee.
As an example: maybe David Goggins got you feeling like you could Kool-Aid man through your nearest wall. But it's a fleeting feeling that keeps you afloat for just long enough to get one foot in front of the other.
It's not a long-term solution, just something that lasts long enough to get the ball off of your back, and start rolling.
That brings us to the point of this post: We need sleight of mind, magic or language magic to give us more options for getting things done that doesn't rely on the irregular amped-up feeling we seek to sustain.
What follows are a number of ways to get things done without utilizing the urgent motivating feelings we can never really plan for, or predict. Because not all of us have successfully become self-brainwashed NAVY Seals. Let's go.
1) The Jumping Into The Pool Technique
A way of getting yourself doing something you're less than excited about is what I call Jumping Into The Pool.
You begin by writing out the tiniest steps that make up your task so there's no ambiguity.
Then you use some form of a mantra sigil, whether that's "Om," or my personal favorite: Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and repeat it, either out loud or in your head as you get yourself doing that starter step for your task.
Ex: Saying Nam-myoho-renge-kyo repeatedly as you click the tab housing the task you've been avoiding, to get the ball rolling
The goal is just to get started, which is usually more difficult than sustaining action once it becomes action.
2) Do A Brain Dump And Reframe
For whatever you're avoiding, get a pen and a notebook and write down all of the anxieties, opinions, and thoughts that you have about the task you're avoiding.
Sometimes simply exposing them to that bright white paper is enough to get them to start melting away.
And for whatever doesn't melt, you at least know the obstacles in front of you that you can begin reframing.
Ex: You identify the automatic thought that you don't think doing this will even be successful or worth the time, and you end up reframing it by reminding yourself of specific instances in which things you undervalued ended up becoming very beneficial for your life
3) Doing The Absolute Tiniest Thing
The reason we don't take the first step, or do the tiniest amount of something we can do, is because we usually think it's not worth it.
This is where the aforementioned reframing can help.
Some ways I've reframed this objection in my own life is reminding myself:
How repeatedly being exposed to things, such as with a song, gets it stuck in your head. Or, in a similar vein, how branding works by consistent commitments being fulfilled or imagery and jingles being drilled into your brain.
The little adds up to be something substantial.
Or, how a construction project starts with the tiniest amounts of foundation, and becomes a skyscraper as the calendar pages turn.
Or, how your favorite hobby began as a tiny spark of interest that developed into real skill and passion.
Or, how your relationships began with entry-level sentences that bloomed into commitments, memories, and positive feelings.
4) Using An Awareness Sigil
I've written about Awareness Sigils, but as a brief summary: they're something you can rest your awareness on that will in turn bring about the results you seek.
Ex: Asking yourself at various parts of the day how hungry you are on a scale of 1-20, which will naturally change your behavior enough to lose weight without much effort (something that's actually worked for me)
If you're looking for an Awareness Sigil with a task you're not excited about tackling: try choosing something relevant/important to the task being successful that is also a strength or interest for yourself.
Ex: If you find writing boring, but you have a strength on alliteration, try focusing on how many opportunities to use that writing technique you can find (which might make the task interesting enough to be easy)
Alternatively, some other Awareness Sigils I've found to be helpful with doing things I'm not excited about:
Asking yourself throughout the day: "How much fun am I having on a scale of 1-10"
Or: "How clear is my next step on a scale of 1-10"
Asking a question like those two can often allow awareness to gravitate us towards the solutions that we're not seeing that will make the task more pleasant.
5) Make A False Binary
I've written about this a bit before choose, but if you have a task or project you're averse to, let yourself naturally think of another task or setting or situation that you would hate to be in. Whatever first comes to mind is best.
Hold up that very unpleasant choice in your mind next to the task in front of you, and sometimes that sleight of mind is enough to get you going.
This can sometimes work better if you choose something that you actually experienced or had to go through that you found very unpleasant.
Ex: Losing a fight in front of people you knew as a kid vs. Going to work right now
It sounds like it shouldn't work, but it's been effective Language Magic for me when I've tried it.
6) Making Sure You Have Physical Energy
Whether it's doing 10 jumping jacks, 10 push-ups (or even one), drinking caffeine, or taking B vitamins, getting yourself a jolt in one way or another can get you to knocking that first domino down that leads to an unfolding of action.
7) Making Sure It's Worth Doing
This works especially well if you have an oracle that you're familiar with, such as the I Ching, but you can ask yourself these questions too.
"What will happen if I do this" and "What will happen if I don't do this."
It sounds simple, and it is, but figuring out the second-order consequences *** of doing or not doing something can help you figure out if it's even worth it to bother.
8) Asking How It Can Be Fun or Easy
Asking yourself "what would need to be true for this to be fun" or "what would need to be true for this to be easy" can get you thinking outside of the infamous "box."
By asking questions like this you can start thinking about tasks that actually are fun or easy for you, and find some common patterns to understand yourself better, and understand how you work.
Ex: For me, fun can often be something that's easy that I still get results from. Knowing this encouraged me to do the tiniest step for getting things done and not discounting that even tiny progress adds up over time.
9) Make A Habit
Habits make things automatic. When things are automatic that thinking, second-guessing mind can get deactivated as you roll into robotic-like movements that are actually beneficial for you.
I've written about how I've made habits here, and it's a skill anybody should pick up if they're trying to change their life.
10) Eliminating Confusion
I have a post about what to do when you don't know what to do and I glance at it from time to time when I have no idea where to start, just to get a helpful reminder of how to handle situations like those.
11) Get A Boost From Taking In Information
Sometimes simply reading something I find interesting for 5-15 minutes is enough to unlatch my mind from it's stuck spot and get it to a reset point.
It takes your thinking and avoidance out of the picture for a second, and allows you to start from scratch again.
12) Thinking of The Greater Good
Sometimes reminding yourself of who outside of yourself would benefit from this task being completed is enough to get us going.
Ex: Writing about how to motivate yourself without motivation might benefit someone that looks a lot like me ten years ago, spinning my wheels without going anywhere positive
Final Thoughts
This list may grow over time, but the current incarnation is what has helped me overcome myself.
The unfortunate truth is that life is about scaling new mountain after new mountain point of life without ever really reaching the top. It's all a process, but if struggling to muster the motivation to move forward is your problem, I hope that something in this toolkit sticks as something you can come back to and get successful results.
If you feel like you're lying to yourself, chances are you're going to keep doing that automatically, so why not lie to yourself in a way that actually makes you more happy and productive?