Hey Team,
It took me a long time to realize that enthusiasm isn’t necessary for success.
Sure, enthusiasm often makes things easier but it can also be hard to sustain.
And, despite what my ADHD brain tries to claim, it is completely possible to forge ahead and take the actions you need to take even on days when your project is the most boring thing you can imagine.*
Yes, this is a bit like my Give It A Try advice from last week but that was mostly about getting started on a given day. This post is more about repeated efforts.
Before I fully understood how my brain worked, I used to fall for the idea (that lots of so-called gurus like to toss around) that if I *really* wanted something then I would naturally be able to do it. That if I wasn’t enthusiastic about a project 24/7 then obviously I didn’t actually want it bad enough.
Basically, I thought that my varying levels of enthusiasm were a SIGN of something.**
One night, years and years ago, I finally cleared some mental space and some time to do some writing and I found myself utterly without enthusiasm for my words. In my boredom with myself, I got on Twitter and directed a tweet at three of my favourite writers seeking an infusion of writing energy. I don’t remember exactly what I asked and two of the writers responded with friendly, kind and joking responses.
The third one, though, she responded with some absolutely brain-changing words for a writer in need of encouragement:
When it’s all over, the words that you dragged out one at a time in tedium read exactly the same as the ones made of white hot inspiration. ~ Ursula Vernon
Ursula Vernon is a prolific writer in a variety of genres and she gets stuff done.
If she also sometimes dragged out words in tedium then I could totally do that, too – it didn’t mean anything about my skill as a writer.
I didn’t need to worry about my wavering levels of enthusiasm, they were just part of the process.
Now, I’m not saying that I can always make myself write when I want to but there is freedom in not having to concern myself with generating enthusiasm. After all, if I have to generate enthusiasm and then generate energy to actually write, I’m doing twice the work for the same result.
The same thing is true for the tasks you want to do in service of enhancing and expanding your life.
Sure, enthusiasm for your tasks is great when it’s there and it is perfectly ok to drum some up if you can.
But it’s also ok to carry out those tasks in tedium today (or any given day) and just get them out of the way.
Your exercise doesn’t have to leave you energized and glowing every time.
Your meditation doesn’t always have to bring a sense of serenity.
Your plan to drink more water doesn’t have to feel exciting today.
Your journaling practice can be utterly revelation free this time.
And sometimes your practice will just be a placeholder, something to connect yesterday’s task with tomorrow’s, one more stone in the path leading to where you want to go.
Sure, if you always feel unenthused and you can’t figure out why you are bothering, take a closer look at what you are doing and why you are doing it.
BUT
… if you are having occasional bouts of indifference or even frustration, let me rephrase Ms. Vernon’s advice to apply in this context:
The practice you do in tedium will be just as helpful for you as the practice done in white hot excitement.
So Team, today (and whenever), I invite you to give yourself the freedom of being unenthusiastic, of letting the task be a placeholder, of letting the process carry you through your practice. It will be helpful to you, one way or another.
And here, as always, is your gold star for your efforts – whether they ae enthusiastic, kind of phoned-in, absolutely enormous, or so teeny that only you can tell they are complete. Your effort counts.
Go Team Us!
*Before my fellow neurodivergents descend upon me, I’m not saying it is EASY and I am not saying we need to ‘just do the thing’, I’m saying that enthusiasm is not necessarily a requirement for action. I do recognize that we may need to dig deep in other, neurodivergent-compatible ways to summon the ability to proceed without enthusiasm.
**Varying levels of enthusiasm/a complete lack of enthusiasm for a project *might* be a sign to look at your plans a little more closely but it’s probably just the normal ebb and flow of feelings around a long term activity.
