Magic

from Pressfield:

the pro mindset is a discipline that we use to overcome Resistance . To defeat the self-sabotaging habits of procrastination, self-doubt, susceptibility to distraction, perfectionism, and shallowness, we enlist the self-strengthening habits of order, regularity, discipline, and a constant striving after excellence.

Interesting.

There’s something we tend to do a lot, especially when the waters aren’t smooth sailing. It involves justifying mediocrity, delaying, and otherwise finding excuses.

I’m not talking about excuses for why X isn’t done on time, or why you forgot Y at the grocery store. I’m talking about excuses for ourselves. Excuses for our behaviors. Excuses for our amateur-ness.

The resolution is simple. Rules. Routine. +1-ing the day before. It’s easy to say “I’ll do it tomorrow,” and God knows I’m guilty of that like none other, but fixing that is simple: combat procrastination with scheduling.

I schedule a lot of my tasks at work and firmly believe that extending that scheduling to my personal life can make a big difference. For example: I’ve been meaning to clean up my car a bit. It’s getting dirty on the inside. Unfortunately, I don’t drive it much during the week so it’s been put by the wayside. If I were to block out an hour of time this weekend to take care of that, I’d be more likely to do just that.

We can combat perfectionism by understanding the concept of striving for excellence. Let me tell you something. If you ever plan on finishing that one thing you’ve been working on for months but feel it has to be just right, you’re never going to get it done.

The only way you’ll be able to get that thing out there and improve for the next is to let it go. Don’t throw it away, but let go of the idea that if you just tweak that one thing in that one place, it’ll be magically perfect. Pro tip: that’s a whack expectation.

Magic isn’t real. It’s illusionary in nature. Magic shows trick your mind into seeing and believing what’s not real. At the same time, we also trick ourselves into believing what we want by way of all of the above. We become distracted by the fluff and the illusionary perfectionism that we forget what’s actually going on behind the curtain.

Unless you plan on being a magician, ditch the magic.