I know the feeling. You probably know it too.
It’s 11 PM. You’re lying in bed, scrolling through YouTube or TikTok. You stumble upon a “motivational” video. Maybe it’s a Navy SEAL screaming about discipline, or a montage of a guy waking up at 4 AM to run in the rain.
Suddenly, you feel it. A surge of electricity in your chest.
You sit up. You tell yourself, “That’s it. My life changes tomorrow. I’m going to wake up early, run 5 miles, write that business plan, and eat nothing but kale.”
You go to sleep feeling high on your own potential.
Then the alarm goes off at 6 AM.
And you feel… nothing. Actually, you feel worse than nothing. You feel tired, groggy, and annoyed. That electric surge is gone. So, you hit snooze. You skip the run. By 9 AM, you’re back to your old habits, feeling guilty and wondering what is wrong with you.
For years, I thought I was broken. I thought I just lacked “drive.”
But then I woke up to the reality: I wasn’t broken. I was just relying on a lie.
The Trap of “Feeling Like It”
We have been sold a lie that highly productive people are constantly “motivated.” We imagine they spring out of bed, bursting with excitement to do difficult work.
Here is the reality check: That is nonsense.
Motivation is an emotion. It is chemically no different than sadness, anger, or joy. And like all emotions, it is temporary. It comes, and it goes.
Building your life on motivation is like building a house on sand. It works fine when the weather is sunny, but the moment a storm hits (stress, fatigue, a bad day), the whole thing collapses.
If you only work when you “feel like it,” you will never build anything of value. You will be a slave to your mood.
Amateurs vs. Professionals
There is a quote that changed my life:
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.”
Amateurs wait for the feeling. They wait for the muse. They wait for the stars to align. Professionals have a system that works even when they feel like garbage.
I had to admit to myself that I was acting like an amateur. I was treating my goals like a hobby—something I did only when it was fun.
The Action Loop (How to Hack Your Brain)
Most people have the equation backward. They think it works like this:
Motivation -> Action (I need to feel good -> so I can do the work)
But psychologically, that is not how the human brain works. The reality is this:
Action -> Motivation (I do the work -> and then I start to feel good)
Think about the last time you dragged yourself to the gym. You didn’t want to go. But 10 minutes into the workout, you felt fine. By the end of it, you felt great.
The motivation didn’t cause the action. The action caused the motivation.
My “Low-Energy” Protocol
Once I realized motivation was a lie, I stopped trying to hype myself up. Instead, I built a “Low-Energy Protocol.”
These are the two rules I use when I want to lie on the couch and do nothing.
1. The 5-Minute Rule
When I’m dreading a task (like writing this article), I make a deal with myself: “I will do this for 5 minutes. If I still hate it after 5 minutes, I am allowed to quit.”
The brain is scared of the mountain. It’s not scared of the first step.
95% of the time, once I break that initial friction, I keep going. And if I honestly want to quit after 5 minutes? I quit. But I rarely do.
2. The “Bad Version” Permission
Perfectionism is just procrastination in a fancy suit. We don’t start because we’re afraid we won’t do it perfectly.
So, I give myself permission to do a bad job.
- Don’t want to run? Just walk.
- Don’t want to write a perfect essay? Write a messy paragraph.
A “bad” workout is infinitely better than the workout that didn’t happen. Consistency beats intensity every single time.
The Wake-Up Call
Stop waiting for the lightning bolt. It isn’t coming.
The version of you that you want to be the healthy, wealthy, focused you is not waiting for you at the end of a motivational video.
That version of you is built in the moments when you are tired, bored, and uninspired, but you do the work anyway.
That is reality. Welcome to it.
Over to you:
What is one task you’ve been putting off this week because you were waiting for the “right time”? Leave a comment below. I read them all.