The Ordeal of Change
In his book The Ordeal of Change, the twentieth-century philosopher Eric Hoffer explores what separates those who sustain the effort required to change, develop a skill, get in shape, complete a creative project, or reinvent themselves from those who abandon such pursuits. Ultimately, Hoffer says, it comes down to the ability to keep going once the initial enthusiasm of any new undertaking inevitably wears off. “Much has been said by all manner of people in praise of enthusiasm,” Hoffer writes. “The important point is that enthusiasm is ephemeral and hence unserviceable for the long haul.”
The ephemeralness and unserviceableness of enthusiasm—that’s the theme of this SIX at 6…
The Level Of Quality Isn’t Greatly Affected By The Amount Of Enthusiasm
Andy Weir, author of The Martian, was asked how he motivates himself to write on days he’s not motivated to write. He said he thinks about what he ultimately wants: to produce good writing. Then he reminds himself that there’s no correlation between how motivated he is and how good the writing is. He has days where he feels extremely motivated, where the words pour out of him. And he has days where he feels like crap, where every word takes work. What these days have in common, Weir said, “if you wait a week and look back on the stuff you wrote, you can’t tell the difference between when you were motivated and when you weren’t. This helps me a lot—remembering that the quality of your work isn’t greatly affected by the amount of enthusiasm you had in the moment.”
Do It When You Don’t Want To So You Can Do It When You Do Want To
For decades, every day, the dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp has woken up at 5:30 AM, put on workout clothes, walked outside her New York City home, hailed a taxi, and asked the driver to take her to the gym, where she works out for two hours. Asked if she’s been able to maintain this habit simply because she enjoys working out, Tharp said, “No. I’ve never enjoyed it. It’s boring and loathsome.” So why do you keep doing it despite never wanting to do it? “It’s simple,” she said. “If you don’t do the work when you don’t want to, you’re not going to be able to do the work when you do want to. End of story.”
“That’s The First Thing I Think About. Then I Keep Going.”
The NBA Hall of Famer Chris Bosh said it was something he learned from Kobe Bryant: you gotta love the parts that aren’t fun, the parts that are a struggle. Playing in the NBA is fun. Practicing and conditioning and sacrificing enough to make it to and in the NBA is a struggle. Publishing books is fun. Writing and researching and thinking and rethinking is a struggle. Acing a presentation is fun. Preparing and ideating and worrying that you might not ace it is a struggle. Playing an instrument is fun. Learning to play an instrument is a struggle. Bosh said that when he sets out to learn a new skill or take on a new challenge, he has this thing he says to himself when the initial enthusiasm wears off and he starts struggling: “I always like to think, ‘how many people would quit right now?’ That’s the first thing I think about. Then I keep going.”
The Psychic Wall
The great writer Joan Didion said she almost always dreaded sitting down to write every day. As she approached her office, she’d think, “Oh, I don’t want to go in there at all.” If not an enthusiasm to go in there and work through draft after draft until a book was done, Didion was asked, what did you have? “Blind faith,” she responded, “that if you go in there and work every day it will get better. Three days will go by and you will be in there and you will think every day is terrible…I keep saying ‘in there’ as if it’s some kind of chamber, a different atmosphere. It is, in a way. There’s almost a psychic wall.” An invisible psychological barrier, often disguised as the pressing need to run errands or to garden or to reply to a few emails or to get in the right mood or to abandon the project altogether. But if you push through that psychic wall, Didion continued, “on the fourth day, if you do go in there, if you don’t go into town or out in the garden, something usually will break through.” As Didion talked about her commitment to writing every day, whether or not she was in the mood, the interviewer recalled her once mentioning that—unlike so many who save it for special occasions—she used her good silverware every day. “Well,” Didion replied, “every day is all there is.”
The Only Lasting Fuel
Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently asked for his advice for staying motivated. “Stop using motivation as your only fuel,” he replied. “It’s a short-term fuel source. That’s why the vast majority of people who start anything—diet, fitness, new projects—don’t finish. They run out of gas. The only lasting fuel is routine. And you only get a routine by dragging yourself on the days when you have no motivation. Over and over. I know that’s not the answer anyone wants. I wish I had a magic pill for you. But the only thing that works long term is showing up for yourself even when you don’t want to.” It’s the only thing that’s serviceable for the long haul.