First of all, thanks to Skinny Black Girl for posting the link that is responsible for today’s post, because I read it and thought… “OMG! THAT!”

Except this post isn’t about exercise, because we all know I’m not doing any of that. My whole…. what’s a better word for plan without saying plan? I don’t know. This year, we’ll say, is about DOING.  I’m reading through my blog posts via my Google Reader today and I come upon today’s post at Skinny Black Girl. She referenced an article in Harvard Business Review entitled “Your Problem Isn’t Motivation.”

He could not be speaking more truth if he was living inside my head. Read the article in its entirety here, but let’s take a look at the scoop (edits are mine):

Each attempt to “motivate”… will only increase … stress and guilt as it widens the gap between … motivation and his follow-through. We have a misconception that if we only cared enough about something, we would do something about it. But that’s not true.

Motivation is in the mind; follow-through is in the practice. Motivation is conceptual; follow-through is practical. In fact, the solution to a motivation problem is the exact opposite of the solution to a follow through problem. The mind is essential to motivation. But with follow through, it’s the mind that gets in the way.

Here’s the key: if you want to follow through on something, stop thinking.

Shut down the conversation that goes on in your head before it starts. Don’t take the bait. Stop arguing with yourself.

Make a very specific decision about something you want to do and don’t question it. By very specific, I mean things like: I will work out  write  tomorrow tonight … or I will only point out the things my employee does right or I will say at least one thing in the next meeting.

Then, when your mind starts to argue with you — and I guarantee it will — ignore it. You’re smarter than your mind. You can see right through it.

I said something to a twiend yesterday–he was congratulating himself on awesome willpower to stop eating out and drinking alcohol. I reminded him that he was successful because he was strong and determined to stick to his decision to cut those things out, not because of some magical force called Will Power. In my humble opinion, will power does not exist. It’s the name we give to the ability to make a decision and stick to it, no matter what.

When doing becomes rote and usual and automatic, we stop thinking about it. We stop trying to motivate ourselves, push ourselves, guilt ourselves into accomplishing our goals. In a short time, we realize that we don’t have to talk so much about what we’re going to do. We just do. 

I realize I’m harping on this point a lot, and that’s because it is huge for me and I think it might be huge for other people at this point in life, where writing isn’t a full time job and we don’t make any money and we don’t really have an audience or a platform or even a project. Writing can be a choice for us, so we must actually choose it. This is the point where we who work outside the home in full time permanent positions sit at our desks and plan and dream and attempt to motive. Nay, even bribe ourselves. “I’ll write for two hours and then I watch X TV show or read X book.” Except that by the time you get home, you’ve been beat with the tired stick and the only thing that sounds good is the the leather of the couch underneath your behind.

What if we stopped thinking and stopped talking and stopped bargaining– in essence trying to motivate ourselves– and just instilled some follow through?

What if we just did it? 

Something to think about, hm?

So yesterday I DID some things. I have a novel that’s been rattling around in my head for over a year and this year I have determined that it will be written. It might suck. It might not suck. Whichever thing happens, it will be written. I started this project many months ago, became frustrated with it and dumped it. I’ve picked it back up again and giving it another go.

Yesterday I found a wonderful character survey HERE. It’s pretty much an in depth study of your character, his or her personality, past, motivations, fears, etc. You fill in all your info, press submit and PRESTO. You get a PDF of a character profile  to save in your (my) project folder. It took me about a half hour or so to do just ONE character last night, in addition to busting out my journal to write out the basics about each of them.

I want to know my characters forward and backward. Even if I don’t use all of the information I know about them, what I know helps form their personality and that personality comes out in the book. Asking myself questions like ‘where was she born, where did she go to school, what’s her personal style, what does she drive, what’s her relationship with her parents/siblings,’ etc helps me create a more well rounded character.

I did this for one character last night. I have five more to go. Feb 1 begins some serious writing.