The Quiet Power of Showing Up When You Don't Feel Like It

Consistency sounds simple until the excitement wears off. What starts as motivation can quickly turn into resistance, distraction, or the very real temptation to check out. Sometimes though, the quiet act of showing up anyway becomes the thing that strengthens us the most.

Maybe I'm overthinking, but as annoying as social media is (mostly the unintentional consumption of it), it's a tool that every culture before it, dreamt of. For the dreamers and the doers, it becomes a valuable tool for self expression. Posting daily, for me, has become a way to stay accountable, most days, right after work I would just check out entirely. Painting daily and posting daily requires me to prioritize myself. It asks more of me than I'm used to. Instead of only getting my work done and being done with the day – which feels a lot like only doing the bare minimum (don't like that) this gives me something to look back on that was just for me.

When Motivation Fades, Discipline Has to Take Over

Yes, I have a website where people can buy cards/prints – but that's not what this is about. This is for me. There are days I really don't feel like it. This is what Mel Robbins has been talking about... motivation is garbage. Discipline is what's needed when motivation, inevitably disappears. The first week, I was so motivated. It was exciting and new! Once that newness wears off, the habit either fades or grows deeper roots. However, those roots can only grow stronger if the winds of distraction and doubt don't get stronger than the roots.

Staying Consistent Requires a Deeper Why

How do we strengthen those roots? By digging deep into our why. Having something for "me" isn't that deep. I could throw that out the window so easy, especially on a day I feel overwhelmed. A friend of mine said her daughter has been inspired by my work – this made my heart smile. This little spark of motivation got me a little curious too. If what I'm doing can inspire or encourage just one person, it becomes all the more worth it. So why would cultures in the past, dream of having social media?

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Reframing Social Media as a Tool for Creative Consistency

Social media has no limit to the amount of places it could reach. As it grows, it becomes a platform to speak about anything. It also becomes it's own community too. Making an account for specifically one thing, means the algorithm will show you more things related. Rogan made a great point in a recent video that I haven't heard a lot of people talking about, but it's BIG.

How to Keep Showing Up When Your Feelings Aren't on Board

He said, it's not "social media" anymore, it's "interest media". How? He said he has millions of followers, but the way things function now, anyone could go viral and be seen by millions and they didn't even have to "grow an audience" like he has. This is powerful, especially for small business owners! However, I'm doing this to get better at art, practice being disciplined, and learn to stay consistent even when I don't feel like it. My deeper why, currently, is to simply be consistent – this requires me to choose discipline over motivation and get my body to act, even when my feelings are not on the same page.

Give Your Mind an Anchor to Keep Going

I saw a video yesterday where a guy was talking about how we react to setbacks when we're on our way to something greater. He said, when you're going on vacation soon, the days leading up to it are the same as any other day – except having this thing were looking forward to. Something happens, that would usually set him off, but in the moment he's so chill about it because, "I'm going on vacation soon!" or you hate your job and finally put in your two weeks notice. Suddenly, the people that would usually tick him off aren't that bad anymore. Technically though, in that moment, nothing has changed, except his mindset.

Turn Consistency Into a Challenge You Actually Want to Keep

This never occurred to me until I heard him talk about this. The same scenario that would usually disrupt his feelings, simply doesn't, because his mind is anchored by something he's looking forward to. This got me thinking, what could I do to help my mind to find an anchor of hope? Should I set mini milestones that unlock special prizes or experiences to keep me going? Maybe! I've always been the type to jump at the opportunity of a challenge or competition. I love the thrill of a challenge. It's also a great way to gamify mundane tasks. Setting a 15 minute timer and trying to clean as much as possible in the house actually makes it more fun and takes up less time. This barrier actually provides more freedom in the areas I actually want it.

Growth Often Feels Like the Opposite at First

The human mind is a powerful machine, but it's a machine with feelings. Those feelings can either control us and our life, or we can find what motivates us and turn things into a game – to get us to do what end result we desire. There's another perspective to this that I think is incredibly powerful, "Your ability to create the reality you want is directly determined by your willingness to experience its opposite. Saving money will have you feeling broke, while it's actually making you rich. Setting boundaries will have you feeling alone, while you're creating new healthy relationships in your life. Digging up your trauma will have you feeling broken, while it's actually healing you. Working out has you feeling weak while it's really making you strong. Learning something new makes you feel dumb, while it's making you more intelligent. Your ability to attain the thing that you want is directly correlated with how willing you are to experience its opposite. You have to be okay with being uncomfortable to truly achieve success."