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Question
How do you force yourself to press ahead when you meet resistance?
I often (not always) find that the more resistance there is, the more rewarding the goal.
I'm not talking about situations where the "universe" is clearly sending you a sign to stahp and re-evaluate (Not: "omg I couldn't find any customers who want this thing I'm building but I'm pressing ahead anyhoo")
More like: the more I try to ship my thing, the busier the day job gets, my kids were sick all night and I'm dead tired, the night before my BetaList or PH launch my server got hacked and so on. This kind of resistance where clearly, it's tough but there seems to be a point on the horizon where things will get better. How do you keep going when times get tough?
I'm not talking about situations where the "universe" is clearly sending you a sign to stahp and re-evaluate (Not: "omg I couldn't find any customers who want this thing I'm building but I'm pressing ahead anyhoo")
More like: the more I try to ship my thing, the busier the day job gets, my kids were sick all night and I'm dead tired, the night before my BetaList or PH launch my server got hacked and so on. This kind of resistance where clearly, it's tough but there seems to be a point on the horizon where things will get better. How do you keep going when times get tough?
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(because otherwise you're gonna stay in hell)
There is no better advice really. You just gotta keep going. But while you're keeping on keeping on, you can get help. Delegate. You can decide some things don't need to get done. Prioritize. Etc.
Don't break the chain? Sometimes I try to do something small, maybe just work on it for a pomodoro session... getting started sometimes is the hardest part.
Also give yourself a nice reward for completing the task. Maybe have the reward out-weigh the task to give you extra motivation.
I usually put myself into an imaginary position of no other choice. Like this goes better or nowhere.
I know this feeling you are talking. On Scrum there is a phrase that can help. Consistency reduces complexity. How i apply this is to automate my behavior in these circumstances. If I dedicate 1-2hours a day on my project. I just do it as always, same place, same time, focus on the project, and timeboxed. That makes me work and not let being down by these feelings. Just keep doing it. On the other hand, one thing that works for me, is to just walk outside and have fresh air, little hikings ;). Hope it helps!
You need a small, quick win. Do something small but important that you've been putting off for a while. It doesn't even have to be related to work, like going out with your SO. That's a win. Or writing an article. Give yourself a win and keep going.