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I can’t get out of bed, much less go write something

Forced Gravity

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FORCED GRAVITY@2x

The Context

Remember being a kid and doing thirty chin ups while gripping the diving board in the deep end of the pool? It gave you the illusion of strength and stamina. But when you examine the physics behind it, you realize that you're not as buff as you thought you were. Because in water, you don't weigh a hundred pounds. Thanks to the magic of physics, you only weigh about eleven pounds. The only path to growth, then, is to create an existence with some resistance. Otherwise it will become too easy to do nothing.

The Tool

two color

Forced Gravity

FORCED GRAVITY — Creating an existence with more resistance

If you're going through a depressive period, here's a new voice to put inside your head. You need a horizon. You need gravity. You need to rescue yourself by creating something to look forward to. It's time to start a new project. Some mental task that you can really sink your teeth into. Something that will generate an inner demand regardless what the marketplace is or isn’t doing. If there is no hunger gnawing at the core of your being, you will distract yourself with bullshit. You may obsess over something, but that doesn't mean you're growing.

Scott's Take

Scott's Take

During one of the worst creative blocks in my career, getting out of bed felt physically impossible. My body simply could not move. Unbeknownst to me, psychiatrists have a name for this state, it’s called dysania. It isn’t recognized as an official disease, since it’s usually a symptom of other medical conditions like depression, chronic fatigue syndrome or sleep disorders. But make no mistake, it’s a very real thing. Anyway, one particular morning I laid there in bed, paralyzed, for what felt like an eternity. Even getting up to pee felt intimidating. Just utter despair. Zero motivation. Where the hell did this numb state come from? My guess was, it’s because I didn’t have a horizon to point to. Because at that moment in time, my entrepreneurial schedule was barren empty. Business had basically dried up. There were no accountabilities, no obligations, no community counting on my contribution, and no clients requiring my attention. Sure, there were readers and fans who liked me and supported my brand and appreciated the work I did. But all the urgency had burned out. I was sitting there with nowhere to be, and all the time in the world to get there. It was a zero gravity environment, and mostly of my own making.

The Rest

Remember, gravity is much more than the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth. It’s also the resistance required to move those bodies forward. It gives us a powerful force to push against. Even if we can’t physically see it, we know it’s there. We can feel it in our bones. Without it, without the necessary struggles, complications and pressures that come with gravity, our muscles wither and die. Physically and emotionally. Are you living an existence with no resistance?

The Benefits

Rescuing yourself by creating a new project to look forward to
Unlock new energy to snap you out of your creative funk
Give yourself a powerful force to push against
Overcome depression through the power of productive obsessions

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