Last updated on 2021/08/22
Computers are amazing.
You plug them in, tell them what to do, and as long as they have consistent power and good data they will keep doing that over and over.
And over.
And over.
Humans are not computers. Humans are biological beings with attention spans and distractions.
Also, don’t forget those icky things called feelings.
No matter how exciting something feels, or how interesting a topic is right now, at some point, that interest and excitement will fade.
Think about it.
You are surrounded right now by vast quantities of potential.
You could go write a program. Author a book. Create a life-saving device. Design an algorithm to end world hunger and save the environment.
Pick your poison here. The possibilities are endless. The world is your oyster and the opportunities abound.
Yet you are sitting there reading these words instead of doing something amazing.
Why is that?
Don’t tell me that you don’t have ideas. We all have ideas. Bizarre and amazing and wonderous thoughts tickling the edges of our consciousness day in and day out.
These concepts relegated to life in a dark crypt, in a fortified castle, behind a deep moat, on an island, surrounded by volcanoes.
You know, those small, teeny-tiny roadblocks to bringing them out into the light of day.
Yet, we all experience these fleeting moments where our ideas take flight and burst out in a shower of fireworks and things just seem easy.
When those moments come around we must carpe diem and ride the wild stallion and go where the wind takes us.
The key to being successful is not in embracing and achieving incredible things when riding this creative wave.
No, the key to success is in finding ways to keep moving when there is no wind or wave and simply sitting there on a flat and endless ocean with no external means of propulsion.
Those wonderful spurts of energy and drive are great.
But do you have what it takes to row your own boat when the motor of creativity is out of juice?
How do you find that spark of motivation to get moving again?
This challenge is so great that even physics recognizes it.
When you push a box across a floor or a table the force needed is equivalent to the friction between the box and the surface due to mass, gravity, and friction.
Have you ever noticed how it is harder to start the box moving than it is to keep it moving?
There is a name for this. The static friction is the force needed to get the box moving. Sliding friction is the force needed to keep the box moving.
Life is a lot like this.
When you are staring at a big problem and it feels overwhelming you are statically glued in place, like a ship on a flat sea with no wind and a hot sun beating down.
There are only two things to do in this situation.
Sit back and wait for that next creative spurt to occur. Maybe sometime in the future, minutes, hours, or days from now, that puff of wind will turn into a gale pushing you forward and providing the fuel needed to tackle the big project.
Or you can find a way to start rowing. This is much harder. It takes effort and requires exertion.
However, this action places control back in your hands. You now have ownership over the actions and results and movement.
Remember, the secret is to simply start moving. To overcome that initial static barrier. It takes a lot more effort to start than it does to keep moving forward.
A wise man once posed a question: “How do you eat an elephant?“
The answer is also the spark needed to generate that first bit of momentum. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you row, what matters is simply moving. Even breaking it down and completing the smallest task lowers the bar for the next effort and the one after that and the one after that.
The size doesn’t matter here. Just like in the answer to the wise man’s question: “You eat an elephant one bite at a time.“
So the next time you find yourself stuck in the doldrums of a creative wasteland don’t sit around waiting and hoping.
Take your first bite, grab your oar, take the first step, pick one small thing to do. In doing so you will find your way back to your creative spurt and success much faster than you could ever imagine!
Thanks for reading!
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