Motivation and discipline and something in between.
Let me tell you a story. Not really a story but I want you to create a mental image. Picture yourself riding a horse. You have the reigns firmly in your grasp. Your feet nestled snugly in the stirrups. You gallop through the fields, the horse responding to your every command. It’s a nice picture.
But then, you notice that your feet are wedged into the stirrups. You cannot dislodged them. Your wrists are tangled into the reins and you realise with horror that far from being in control, you are actually tied to the back of a horse and cannot get free. As you struggle you fall from the horse, but it continues to gallop and you continue to be tied.
You are now being dragged along by a horse you have no influence over whatsoever. Completely at the mercy of the animal you chose to ride. This is motivation and discipline and something in between.
So often this is how I feel — do you relate to this? You begin a task or a project or a new habit and you are totally motivated to do it. You are firmly in control and galloping through that field. But then, what started out as a committed intention becomes something else. It began as a dream but turns into a nightmare that you cannot escape from. You become burdened by the need to keep going, any and all motivation long gone.
