When You Least Feel Like Doing Something

You’re sitting on your couch, watching some Netflix, eating a snack, just relaxing… you had a long day at work and you didn’t have time to exercise… but you know you need to go for a walk or a run or go lift some weights—because you have goals and you know that’s the only way you’re going to get there… but there’s that voice in your head… telling you how comfortable you are right now… telling you how nice and cozy it is on the couch… you don’t need to get up and go sweat.

I know this sounds familiar to you because this exact scenario is me about three times a week. One of my (many) inner demons is a lazy, fat guy who likes to sit on his butt and eat sweets—but I know that if I want to live a long, happy, and healthy life, that is not the way. I know that I have to get my ass up and go sweat for an hour EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

In my all-time favorite book, Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, he talks about one of the most difficult, yet most important times in life: when you least feel like doing something.

When you least feel like getting out of your soft, warm, comfortable bed and go for a run in the cold, that’s when you must do it.

When you least feel like driving to the gym and making yourself suffer for an hour, that’s when you must do it.

When you least feel like getting up and doing the dishes, that’s when you must do it.

Anyone can do stuff when they’re feeling good and feeling inspired, but motivation is temporary. Motivation isn’t always going to be there. What happens when you feel like shit and unmotivated?

It’s cold, rainy, you just worked a 10-hour shift, and exercising is the last thing you wanna do… that is the most important time to do it.

This mindset cannot only keep you in physical shape, but it keeps your mind in shape too. How good does it feel after you finish a workout when you had to force yourself to even start? That’s a huge win and it feels great.

If you can go do something when you least feel like doing it, what else can you do?

If I’ve learned anything in my 23 years, it’s how important our daily habits are. Having one or two lazy days leads to two or three and then three to four lazy days. You have one cheat meal a week and it seems like no big deal… but before you know it, you're eating Wendy's habitually. That’s how things work and that's how people work.

In my very first blog post, I talked about the idea of ‘how you do anything is how you do everything.’ If you start to half-ass something, you’re going to half-ass everything. This translates to business, to relationships, to health, to LIFE.

When you least feel like doing something, that is the most important time to do it.