Stop Pulling Yourself Down
You sit down on the computer planning to do your next big project, or keep learning the skill the will hopefully make you a millionaire, but whilst you’re thinking, something grabs your mind, you say to yourself, hey it’s just a few minutes, I will fix this thing or edit that file or maybe read about a new technology.
Next thing you know, you have just wasted your whole day on a repetitive loop of procrastination, rotting your mind on social media, editing configuration files, comparing two options over half an hour, making every particle seem as big as the ocean, at the end of it, you delusional say it must be the operating system’s fault, so you proceed to reinstall it the gazillionth time only to realize it was you, who was the problem.
So you go onto your bed whispering to yourself like a person who advises people but never does apply his own advice “Tomorrow I won’t do the same thing again” and the cycle repeats.
What now?
many would wake up and repeat the same thing many of us do, but have you thought to yourself how could you stop this? How can I actually do things?
I have come to connect some dots to hopefully cure this blight which causes different symptoms for each of its patients (ie different excuses).
The cures and how do they relate to the issue
- Faith
- Your heart
- Having a plan
- Your discipline/motivation
- The people around you
- The environment and your personal health
Faith
I will cut to the chase, I am a muslim, I would not be like others when speaking about religion, all soft hearted, “sorry I hurt your feelings”. You must know that if you don’t have a purpose you believe in life, then you are as good as a broken down boat, trying to reach its destination before even fixing the boat itself.
Some people could have all of the conditions met to succeed, but they think that they’re sole purpose is to convert oxygen into carbon dioxide, so they decide to do the bear minimum to live like a human then whine on why society sucks like they have come with a miraculous answer to its problems.
And don’t pick it based on whatever goes along with your desires , but pick it based on objective truth. To learn Islam, start with the Quran, with the Noble Quran translation and or Sahih International, with the interpretation of Tafseer Ibn Kathir translated into English and abridged, follow a student of knowledge and ask them questions, look at Al-haqqan (knowledge focused) and Muslim lantern (Dawah focus).
Do you actually care?
You could be learning that technology, or language, or doing your idea, but still you do not reach far, this returns to Fatih, are you hopeless, then most likely you would trying to escape reality, and make up anything to get your mind off anything that is bothering you, but there are people who still don’t reach far even if they have a strong will, then this goes into your heart, do you actually see the thing your are doing as beneficial, one’s focus could be directed to into something else, due to not prioritizing time, realizing the real loss of your own self.
The prophet - peace be upon him - he said: two blessings which people waste, good health and free time.
- Narrated it Al-Bukahri
And you could be wanting to actually achieve and do well, but your heart is deluded and deceived by useless matters from video games and laziness to wishing to have useless wealth to waste.
All of this laziness and unrealistic hope makes you demoralized and wanting to live from day to day matters only, so start by doing something, have things to do, meet people, try to experience something everyday.
Make a roadmap
Like schools they setup for you a schedule that you adhere to, from timings and what to learn with specific curriculums, have a person to learn under or with, setup a roadmap to learn and adhere to it, follow guides or books, don’t just use tutorials to learn they would most likely give you the bare minimum, but with these guides/books you would be able to follow them, and reference them when making your own books, even having some of the authors responding back and giving guidance.
have a hybrid approch with your time, do not just have your time fully focused on work, nor just be senselessly jumping on the hype train pouring time and effort into something you regret later on.
A discourse on motivation and discipline
Many argue you only need motivation to kick start you journey some say it is discipline all the way, I would say it is both, you need both, if you are demotivated and you see no worth in the field you are trying to learn then there is no use, and with discipline, you could have your motivation to the sky, but with no discipline and would fall down to earth like a bird shot down from its glory days which only last few hours at most.
But how can I get motivation? Simple by watching people succeed, watch them going from the lowliest of the lows to giants in their fields. Discipline is built by repetitively doing the thing, till it becomes almost like muscles memory, this is why programmers start optimizing the tiniest of things, utilizing scripts and keyboard shortcuts to reduce friction to building their skills.
don’t be around people who are illiterate to tech
Do not speak about what you are learning and trying to make to people who don’t know about technology or your field they would over exaggerate matters, downplay things, poke fun at you, or just propose ridiculous things that cannot by a single person.
But being around people who are willing to actually learn and are doing projects they could push you to doing well.
Do speak to some laymen about what you do, if you know they might have funding/networking potential.
take care of yourself
At the end you are a human, not a machine, so connect with people around you, take care of your family, eat well, take care of your poor back, and don’t get deep into useless rabbit holes that won’t benefit you at all, and finally sleep well.
Your environment could play a massive role, from its size and noise, to relating people around you and potential time wasters, pick the place you lean to and rest in.
- Mohammad Anas Alfailakawi