#321 – How can you keep going when all you want to do is quit?

Keeping a promise you made to yourself can be daunting, especially if you're relying on something as fleeting as motivation.

Relying on a habit, experts say, is how you ensure you'll continue till the end.

I started this newsletter 321 days ago. First, I promised myself I'd send out seven. Then 100. And then, I shifted from "promise" to curiosity––how much longer can I keep going?

It's a habit. Every day, I write one mini-essay that I send out, post on my blog, and distribute on Substack.

If I hadn't built that habit by doing it no matter what, I'd have given up. I'd be sadly chewing on the stale bonbons the Ghost of Not Following Up hands me, sitting with me on the couch, while the Ghost of Idea Deflection, on the other side, wipes my mouth with an over-used tissue, and asks, why bother, anyway?

The no matter what is the key part. You need to become oblivious to the response, the outcome, the likes. Even the open rate.

You need to keep your gaze straight ahead, ignoring the Twin Ghosts of Misplaced Shame and Guilt, offering you a self-flagellating whip because your son is in jail.

Ignore the Ghost of Need To Prove, that insists on reviewing each piece to the point of exhaustion and tells you to not start writing until you have the perfect idea and the most earth-shattering insight.

Don't listen to the Ego's trite questions (who do you think you are? and where do you think you're going?).

Forget about needing a "why" and build a habit instead. Keep doing the work for the work's sake, for your own sake.

And if someone asks you what's your "why," here's one: because you can.

What goal will you pursue out of habit, letting go of the need for motivation?

Love,

Carolina