If there comes a day when you have nothing to say

It’s tempting to use strategies to overpower our inertia by trying to inspire ourselves.

We set our alarm for five and leap out of bed and pump ourselves up in the mirror and go out for a run and then eat a hearty breakfast and write out our list of affirmations and start trying to accomplish seventeen things by lunch.

And with the noblest intentions, of course.

But often times, trying to overpower lethargy doesn’t end up working. Because when we run out of steam, we stop taking action.

I used to experience chest pains in the first two weeks of every new year. That was my body trying to tell me to stop overpowering my own inertia.

But I never listened. I was too busy feeling big and heroic and motivated. Addicted to busyness, dreading what I might have to face in its absence.

Until I finally realized, wait a minute, if I’m not inspired, the world won’t tilt on its axis. There’s no motivation police that’s going to darken my doorstep with orders to take me down to the station for questioning.

Here’s what I say to myself instead:

If there comes a day when I have nothing to say, that’s okay.

Which sounds like a nursery rhyme or a support group mantra. But it’s true. Because there are tens of thousands of days. Failure is okay when you know you’re on a long road.

And so, if you’re on the way to turning your vision into reality, accept the fact that you will feel both good and bad. Don’t overact to either. Keep events in perspective. Take everything in stride.

Remember, you’re the type of person with long term goals, meaning, you’re not intimidated by short term setbacks.

It’s part and parcel of the rollercoaster of business.

When was the last time you tried to overpower your own inertia?