Forget Motivation and Practice the Practice

What stands in the way becomes the way.

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I used to need to feel inspired to start anything, but somewhere between exhaustion and self-preservation, I learned that motivation isn’t the spark. It’s the smoke that only appears after you’ve already begun.

A year ago, I decided to start over in a way that didn’t require an audience. I shut down my public social media accounts and redirected my attention inward, not in search of a new project, but a new practice — strength training.

Practice the Practice

At first, I didn’t do it for aesthetics. I did it because I was in deep, physical pain from two decades of sitting at desks, in studios, on airplanes, and at writing tables. My hips had tilted forward, my spine had tilted to the left, and everything in between ached.

Writing had given me a career, but it had also given me a body that hurt to live in. So I started training five days a week. No days off. No excuses. No inspiration required. Even on holidays, when I was sore, tired, or didn’t want to, I showed up because I was tired of being in pain.

That’s when I began to understand the difference between feeling motivated and being willing. Motivation depends on emotions, which, as we know, are fleeting, while…