Summary

The author reflects on the personal challenges and motivations behind their persistent writing efforts despite feeling mentally drained and uninspired.

Abstract

The article titled "Why Am I Even Doing This Damn Thing?" delves into the author's internal struggle with motivation and productivity in the face of a long and exhausting day. The author, who finds writing to be a less natural activity compared to other professional tasks, employs various mental visualizations, such as securing themselves with an imaginary seatbelt, to push through the fatigue and complete their writing tasks. Despite the mental fog and physical discomfort, the author is driven by the need to avoid incomplete tasks and the desire to maintain a daily writing habit. The piece concludes with the author's commitment to perseverance and self-improvement, aiming to write faster and more efficiently, even at late hours.

Opinions

The author expresses frustration and uncertainty about their writing process, initially responding to the question of their motivation with "God knows."
There is a sense of self-imposed pressure to perform and complete tasks, as the author cannot stand the thought of having unfinished items on their to-do list.
The author acknowledges that writing does not come easily to them and requires conscious effort and discipline to maintain consistency.
Physical and emotional exhaustion from a day filled with virtual conferences has impacted the author's ability to focus and write effectively.
The author uses humor and hyperbole, such as the idea of a seatbelt attached to their chair, to cope with the struggle of writing under duress.
Despite the difficulty, the author has a deep love for their work and the tasks at hand, which fuels their determination to push through challenges.
The author values the importance of training and patience in building the stamina to write daily, regardless of external circumstances.
The article conveys a sense of accountability to the audience and a personal commitment to self-improvement and the pursuit of excellence in writing.

Thinking Hard and Fast

Why Am I Even Doing This Damn Thing?

I must be nuts

If you asked me the question in the title 30 minutes ago, you would have gotten this response.

“God knows.”

That is true at multiple levels. The first level of interpretation is an annoyed one. The second level relates to me throwing my hands up and sigh a long sigh.

Since I do not know which is which, then it has to be that only God knows.

It is not a bad idea, considering that our actions should be backed by something someone understands. It can be weird that, that someone is not us, per se.

Mumble, mumble, mumble.

I am not bestowed with perpetual good days. Such days become difficult when emotions hijack.

I am mentally exhausted today. Strings of virtual conferences drained me. I want to power off and go away in the woods with my book at this point of writing.

I struggle to open the word document and start typing.

I started picturing an image of securing my thighs with a seatbelt. Of course, I do not actually have a seatbelt attached to my working chair. How freaky is that?

We have to visualize.

I picture myself typing furiously after securing my imaginary seatbelt.

Fortunately for me, it worked out.

Why do I bother?

I have had a long day. I suspect I have about 12 hours of work in me at minimum at this point. My mind is clearly fogging, and my fingers hurt.

Maybe the keyboard hurts too. The vowels must be pissed at me for abusing them.

I love you guys!

I have to show up because I need to.

Writing does not come naturally to me. I am more likely to stitch together business development proposals one after another without twitching my eyebrows. Writing? I need to drill it in me.

This is the same for running, creating video content, appearing for work, hosting my live stream when I do not feel like it.

I am addicted to my work, but there are times where I succumb to nature. There are days where the otters in my vicinity appear so friendly that I want to give them a high-5.

I want to, and therefore, I have to type furiously to complete my tasks. I do not want half-complete tasks on my to-do lists. Strikethroughs must be permanent.

I want to make sure that I write daily, no matter how short. I know there will be days where I falter. I have not, but the time will come.

I need to be prepared for that day.

How do I do that?

I have to stretch the limits of my patience, so I can continue to write even at 11 in the evening. It takes training and patience.

And hopefully, I type way faster by then.

Sigh.

Alright, otters! Here I come!

About the Author:

As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure.

Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.

An Author’s Bio on ILLUMINATION — I Read and Write. Now, I Type.

I am Aldric and I am a reader.

medium.com

Do reach out and say hi on Linkedin and Twitter!