It’s All Your Fault: Once You Read This, Every Spell Of Inconsistency Is Your Fault.

No matter how talented, well-prepared, or committed you are, eventually, you’ll hit a “wall”.

And I’ve hit a wall too.

And surpassed it.

Here’s my story:

December 2022.

I’d been thinking about starting a blog.

I’d written for friends on social media for 3 years.

Initially, I wrote about the small wins I made every day.

Whenever I wanted to give up, procrastinate, or quit,

I wrote about the process of overcoming those feelings.

Which, in turn, helped me to remain committed, as I had to live it to write it.

And my peers enjoyed it, so I continued to post every day.

But as usual, I wanted more.

I wanted to give more than fleeting motivation.

I wanted to give something permanent—something timeless.

Something based on real experiences and research, not just theory and ideas.

So, I read,

And read,

And read.

I researched to find the answers I was curious about.

I reverse-engineered my ideas, alongside books, to find out why they were true.

And by March, I had read A LOT.

I had a wealth of ideas and concepts to write about.

Hundreds of bookmarks and underlined lines of research,

But in those three months, I had written maybe five pieces.

That’s it.

And often, they were driven by inspiration following my reading—passionate, at most.

But nothing consistent, nothing concrete — nothing purposeful.

Unknowingly, I had hit a wall.

I had a reason to start.

I had the platform.

I had the ideas.

But the size of my goals were holding me back.

I started to doubt whether I’d be able to do this long-term.

I wondered,

Could I maintain this?

What if I ran out of ideas?

What if I hated everything I wrote?

What if nothing was good enough?

What if? What if? What if?

And these piling doubts kept me further and further from my writing.

Until I read Atomic Habits,

In his book, James Clear proposed this concept.

In his 14th Chapter titled, “How to Make Good Habits Inevitable and Bad Habits Impossible,” he writes,

“If you find yourself continually struggling to follow through on your plans, then you can take a page from Victor Hugo and make your bad habits more difficult by creating what psychologists call a commitment device. “

And I did exactly that.

I made writing inevitable and procrastination impossible.

The commitment device requires you to use something you hold dear as leverage.

So I used money.

I told my editor, I would write a piece every single day for the rest of March, and in the event I didn't, I would pay her £50 each and every time I didn’t meet my commitment.

No ifs, buts, or maybes.

And FYI, I hate losing money for no reason.

March 2023

During this month, I wrote a piece every single day.

Even whilst working and juggling university.

I found 2–3 hours to write a piece every single day.

If it meant I had to start writing at work, then so be it.

If it meant I had to sacrifice other things, so be it.

Wake up earlier, force myself into the library, and change my habits.

So be it.

Even if I was ill, didn’t feel like it, or felt like I was out of ideas.

I had no choice but to find a way.

I had to surpass that wall.

And I did.

I loved every second of it.

Why?

Because I gave myself no other choice.

I made my good habit inevitable and my bad habit impossible.

So, if you’ve hit a wall,

You’re currently procrastinating or giving it 50%,

Or, you’ve lost that ‘spark’.

Now that you’ve read this:

It’s your fault.

You’re the reason those excuses have enough power to halt you.

You left the door ajar for excuses to come through.

I didn’t.

And what happened?

I made a way.

I went from writing nothing to writing every single day without fail.

No one’s perfect, though.

I’ve become complacent again.

I’ve hit a wall again.

However,

The beauty of the commitment device is that it’s inexhaustible.

Just up the stakes.

Right this moment, whilst writing, I’m surpassing my wall.

It’s the 2nd of July, and I’ve reinstated the commitment device.

For every day of July, I must write four pieces. (1 Long, 3 Short)

Every day I fail, I must send my editor £200.

It’s day 2/31 and I’m not going to lose.

Why?

Because it’s a choice to be inconsistent.

It’s a choice to half-heart your commitments.

It’s a choice to give in to your doubts.

But it’s similarly a choice to leave no room for the above to occur.

And that’s the choice I’ve made.

I know it’s All My Fault, that’s why I’m making a change.

I encourage you to make one, too.

LM

Thank you for reading!

American psychologist Alok Konojia, or ‘HealthyGamerGG’, says:

“The absence of reflection is the reason you’re stuck.”

To solidify our growth, let’s reflect:

Petrichor’s 1-Minute Reflection:

• How did you feel before reading?
• How did you feel whilst reading?
• Do you feel any different now that you’ve finished?
• What is your one takeaway from reading this?