Move in Silence | How to Achieve Everything You Desire

[Anderson]

I'm sure many of you have sent a message to friends that goes something like, "I've done nothing all week except scroll through TikTok. That's it! Starting next week, I'm turning over a new leaf. I'll start working out, improving myself, and building a business." Or perhaps something like, "Hey, I've got this awesome idea! I'm going to start a YouTube channel, make 100k, and help my parents. I'm tired of being poor." 

We've grown accustomed to announcing our plans as soon as we feel motivated, eager to prove to everyone that our lives are about to change dramatically. Let's explore how to quietly work on ourselves and emerge transformed. We'll delve into maintaining long-term motivation and understand why you won't achieve anything if you keep talking too much.

Our lives often look like this: when we're feeling down, we don't want to share news with others. But when we're on a high, we're hyperactive and eager to tell everyone how great things are going. Think about what happens when you start telling everyone about your plans. Your dopamine levels rise because this hormone is responsible for the anticipation of something exciting. This approach, however, can kill any new beginning. Stop overthinking; it's harmful. Accept that at some point, your brain will build a tolerance to these feelings. It makes no difference whether you've achieved something significant or just spent two hours in the kitchen giving yourself a motivational speech.

Now you understand why your sudden bursts of motivation quickly turn into apathy and the desire to scroll through your feed. The same thing happens when you start telling everyone about your great new business idea. This often brings envy, judgment, and misunderstanding. If you have such ideas frequently, you might hear things like, "Yeah, sure, I've heard that a hundred times. You'll give up by tomorrow." This breaks your motivation twice: through lack of motivation and self-doubt coupled with unhealthy criticism.

Let's fix this. Your first problem is overthinking. You've probably developed a habit of imagining a scenario for your life and playing it out to the end. You need just a few factors to decide if something is worth pursuing. Overthinking various scenarios is usually unnecessary because 99% of them will never happen. As soon as you understand that a topic is profitable and you'd like to pursue it, start doing it. When you try, you have two outcomes: success or experience. When you only think and dream, you end up with depression and fatigue.

Many people, including myself, have trouble starting. I understand perfectly - perfectionism can kill the desire to do anything. When I first started YouTube, and this wasn't my first channel, I couldn't do anything. Due to my extensive viewing, I felt that my skills were in a different universe from others. This can really bring you down. You expect one thing and get another. How can you not give up? Especially now with TikTok, where everyone seems to be living your dream life.

In such cases, you have no choice but to eliminate distractions, limiting entertainment to an hour a day and working the rest of the time without showing or telling anyone. Without emotional outbursts, you can last longer. Trust me, it's much better to return and talk about what you've achieved than to talk about your plans. Even if things aren't going your way right now, with time, you will improve. You'll see something new, apply it, learn something, get better, buy new equipment, and so on. Think about yourself a year ago. You've likely become better. Remember, time can be your best friend or worst enemy. The sooner you start, the more time you'll have.

Also, allow yourself to immerse in your new activity. Many people start something, do it for a week, then start doubting what they're doing. I call this the Valley of Death, where 99% of beginners stay. Those 1% you see living amazing lives have passed this stage. They allowed themselves the time and opportunity to work on what they love as long as it takes. Give yourself a month to work on one thing every day without excuses. Track your progress at the beginning, middle, and end. You'll see real progress. It might seem small to you, but how long have you been dreaming of changing your life? A couple of years or more? Now realize how little a month means in the grand scheme of your life. Keep working with the understanding that progress is never linear.

For instance, if I spend a month making shorts every day, trying to become popular and well-known, learning editing, and creating cool transitions and sounds, but only gain 100 subscribers by the end of the month, many would be disappointed. They think, "If I gain 100 subscribers a month, I'll only have 1,200 in a year. That's unacceptable." But just one more month, and you might create a video that brings you 100,000 subscribers overnight. This applies to any field. You might land a big contract or sell your product in bulk. Your work has a cumulative effect. The more you work, the closer you get to living your dream life.

So, choose a skill today and start working on it tomorrow without telling anyone, even your closest friends. Keep your energy to yourself and work in silence, regardless of success or failure. At the end of the month, come back and share your results. Just imagine their reactions when they see your achievements.

Final Thoughts:

This approach to motivation and productivity is powerful because it emphasizes the importance of consistency, focus, and internal validation over external approval. By not announcing your plans and simply working on them quietly, you protect your motivation from external criticism and your own unrealistic expectations. This method encourages steady, incremental progress and helps develop resilience. Over time, this can lead to significant achievements and a more sustainable path to personal growth and success.

[Olga]

Motivation is a cyclical phenomenon, marked by ups, peaks, and inevitable downturns. It's impossible to always be at your peak, and it's crucial to understand and accept this reality. In this article, we'll explore the stages of motivation and how they affect us. This is why I recommend you to read or watch my post / video about the power of intrinsic motivation.

Why Does Motivation Fade? 3 Key Factors

1. Shifting Priorities: When we start something new, like picking up a hobby such as painting, it can feel exhilarating. This initial excitement often pushes other areas of our lives—family, work, studies, health—into the background. However, over time, these responsibilities resurface, demanding attention. You might find yourself needing to focus more on work or spending time with loved ones, which naturally shifts your focus away from painting. As these other aspects take precedence, your motivation for the hobby might cool down and diminish.

2. Unexpected Challenges: Life is unpredictable, and unforeseen circumstances can drastically affect our motivation. Stress, sudden work deadlines, illness, or emotional issues can consume our energy and shift our priorities. When faced with such challenges, your once-passionate dedication to painting might seem less important as you focus on managing the crisis at hand.

3. Loss of Interest: If you're pursuing something out of obligation rather than genuine interest, it can quickly become tedious. If painting starts to feel like a chore rather than a joy, your motivation will naturally wane. This is a critical point where many people might give up altogether.

The Plateau Stage

In any pursuit, there comes a time when progress seems to stall—a plateau where it feels like you're not improving despite your efforts. For instance, you might feel like you're endlessly practicing brush strokes or color blending techniques, but your paintings still don't turn out the way you'd like. At the beginning of any hobby, small achievements feel monumental, but as you advance, it becomes harder to notice progress, and the novelty wears off.

What to Do When Motivation Drops

The Strategy of Small Steps
One common mistake is to push yourself even harder, like increasing your painting sessions from one hour to two every day. This can lead to burnout, leaving you feeling exhausted and guilty when you don’t see immediate results. Instead, I recommend adopting a "small steps" approach. Focus on what you can manage right now—maybe just 15 minutes of sketching or working on a small section of a painting. The key is to avoid self-criticism and accept that this is where you are at the moment, and that's okay.

Don't force yourself to paint if you’re not feeling up to it. Give yourself permission to rest. Celebrate each small step you take and acknowledge your minor successes. For instance, if you learned a new shading technique and used it in your next painting, take a moment to appreciate that achievement. This gradual approach can reignite your motivation.

Adding Variety
Repetition can be dull. To keep things interesting, try incorporating new activities into your routine. For example, instead of just working on your usual projects, try experimenting with a different medium, like watercolors if you're used to oils. You could also take a break from your usual style and paint something completely out of your comfort zone, like abstract art if you usually paint landscapes.

If you're learning without a mentor, explore online resources - blogs, YouTube channels, or social media accounts that focus on various aspects of art, from technique tutorials to art history. Engaging in art communities, like joining a local painting club or participating in online art challenges, can also help reignite your passion. Seeing others' work and sharing your own can provide fresh inspiration and motivation.

Another tip is to choose a project that’s slightly below your current skill level. This can be a great confidence booster as you’ll likely find it easier and more enjoyable, reminding you of how far you’ve come and making the process more satisfying.

Final Thoughts

It's normal to lose motivation in any endeavor, whether it's due to shifting priorities, unexpected challenges, or a loss of interest. Remember that motivation operates in cycles, like a spiral. If you push through the low points without giving up, you’ll eventually regain your enthusiasm and energy, emerging stronger and more motivated.

In any creative pursuit, maintaining motivation is a journey. Understanding that it’s natural to experience highs and lows allows you to be kinder to yourself during the tough times. Use intrinsic motivation (see the link above). The key is to stay engaged, even in small ways, and to keep things fresh and exciting. By adopting a flexible mindset and being open to change, you can keep your passion alive and continue growing in your chosen hobby. Whether it’s painting, writing, or any other creative outlet, the ebb and flow of motivation are part of the process, leading you to new heights of personal achievement and fulfillment.