4 min read

How To Fight The URGE To Be The Lesser Version Of Yourself

Do you find yourself gravitating towards short term pleasures over delayed gratification? This is the position I also found myself in, and here I discuss my opinions on how to overcome it and aim for that sweet success!
How To Fight The URGE To Be The Lesser Version Of Yourself

I am finishing my day job and heard the news that my wife and daughter are away from the house, so I have a couple of hours before the mayhem starts again.

I know I want to write another article but I can hear my brain lure me...

Brain: "But you can play on your PlayStation only for 30 mins and then you can write that article... "

But we both know it's a trap. I will spend at least an hour and then I won't feel like it because I had the Dopanme hit. and to get more my Brain will follow up with:

Brain:  "Well, it's only one hour before the girl are home... so how about we play now and TOMORROW you can hit it extra hard? What do you say? "

ME: "Dear Brain,  F**** YOU!"

Hence I am writing this article in response to my brain trying to lure me into a comfort mode and further away from my goals in life. I want to help others and I can't do that if I am playing video games.

Brain: "Well unless your writing is soo bad, you are helping them by not writing?! Plot twist."

Me: "Again, F*** YOU!"

You see what my mind was doing there is trying to laps into an old habit loop of a dopamine hit of playing video games because it feels good.

But I know that after two hours I will feel worse because the time will be wasted.  Of course, if I allocate that time to play ahead of time I have no problem we all need downtime. But this was not planned and I have things I would like to get on with.

I have started this blog so I can share my experiences and insight with people just like me and provide them with inspiration that it is possible to achieve what you want.  

You ARE what you DO, not what you THINK.

Over the last few months, I have been thinking AND that was the problem. Thinking about something is not acting on it.

"I'll get to it one day" is not a strategy.

Thinking about starting a passion project is not the same as actually doing it. What do you want to remember in 10/20 years time? How you thought about starting a business or starting a business and that journey takes you, good or bad. either way, it's a learning point for the next adventure.

"Action speak louder than words", we have all heard that and it's that action that will get you the result.

The reality of life is,  if you are not willing to put the work in then don't expect the results.  Consistent action effective action will get you the results.

Success is built on hard work, luck and your unique advantage followed up by more hard work.  Small daily action will deliver more benefits than a large amount of "thinking about it".

The day where you just want to kick it and play on the PlayStation are the days when it counts. because I am choosing to be the better version of myself.  

Choose Your Time Wisely.

As I get older I get to realise that the older generation had a point, your time is limited and it is the only resource you cannot get back once you have spent it. you can get everything back but you cannot get the time back.

you can earn more money, you can get back in shape, you can spend quality time with the family, you can have a side gig ...

OR

You can watch TV, Scroll throught your social media feed while eating that clalory bomb that is disguised as a "Snack".

Basically what it comes down to is: do you want to spend your time working on. long term goals or get short term pleasure that is designed to keep you hooked and come back for me.

it's your choice to decide what you want in life and no one else. If you are waiting for Motivation back up, bad news.

****YOU ARE THE BACKUP!****

No one will tell you how to spend your time and no one can force you to change, well unless you are kidnapped. but back to my point. The time you spend watching TV or being a mindless scroller on your phone will be gone and can you honestly say that it makes you happy?

If your honest answer is yes, then Great. I am happy for you.

But if not, then only you know how to spend your time.

Dont BullSh^T Yourself

If you say to yourself that "you lack motivation, but you really want to change, all it is that you just lack motivation". Well, for me there is a simple way of looking at it. It means you are comfortable where you are and you are not so much discomfort that you want to change things.  You would like to improve but you are not willing to put in the hours required to run a side business or learn another language. The worst thing you can do is tell yourself that you'll get to it one day...

we both know that day won't come any time soon if at all.

How do I know this? because it is not your priority. If it was your priority, you know when you would do it and how. it is that simple.