​

If you've noticed that you tend to quit everything you start, I would be willing to bet that it's because you've been doing things for the wrong reasons.

And in this letter, I'm about to tell you the secret to becoming more disciplined, so you can start making more progress on your goals.

But first, let's take a closer look at why you keep quitting everything in the first place…

Why you keep quitting everything you start.

Think back to a time when you felt the most motivated to follow through with something.

For most people, you probably felt the most motivated to do something when you had somebody to be accountable to.

And with that accountability, you also had a reward that you really wanted to earn, or a punishment that you really wanted to avoid.

And as we already know, human beings are biologically wired to do more things we get rewarded for, and less things we get punished for (if the rewards and punishments are something we care about).

So bringing that back to this situation, the reason you keep quitting everything you start is that you don't have a good enough reward for finishing it, and you don't have a bad enough punishment for not finishing it.

So with that being said…

How can you stop quitting everything you start?

You might think the obvious answer is just to set up a bunch of rewards and punishments for yourself.

But, it's not that simple.

Because if we think back to the times when you felt the most motivated, it wasn't only the fact that you had rewards and punishments that kept you going.

The key piece is that you had external rewards and punishments.

Meaning, the rewards and punishments would have came from somebody or something outside of yourself.

And that's what creates the big problem…

The big problem.

The big problem with only being able to be motivated by external rewards and punishments is that when you don't have any in place, it's very hard for you to keep yourself motivated.

Ultimately what happens is, you get addicted to the validation and feedback you get from other people when you do something "good".

And instead of paying attention to how you feel when you do something, you pay more attention to what other people have to say about how you did it (or how "good" you did it).

And it's almost impossible to stay motivated when you think that way.

So the real question we need to ask to figure out how you can stop quitting everything you start is…

What can you do that you'll actually enjoy AND not care about what other people think about it?

The reason that question is important is because you have 2 types of motivation:

The first one is called intrinsic motivation.

1. Intrinsic motivation is when you do something because you get personal satisfaction from it.

The second one is called extrinsic motivation.

1. Extrinsic motivation is when you do something to get an external reward, or avoid an external punishment.

The problem with extrinsic motivation is that somebody else gets to set the standards, and make the rules you have to play by.

And that's why extrinsic motivation is not enough to keep you going.

Because in order for you to stay motivated over a long period of time, you have to feel like you are in control of your own behavior.

And with intrinsic motivation, you are in control.

With intrinsic motivation, it's all about how you feel about what you're doing, and what it does for you personally.

You do it because you wanna do it.

And when you do something because you wanna do it, it's easy to keep doing it.

Just Do It (for you).

So the solution is simple.

Nike says Just Do It.

I say Just Do It For You.

If you wanna stop quitting everything you start, you need to take some time to think about what you'll actually enjoy doing just for the fun of it, then start doing that.

Instead of doing it for money, likes and comments, or to be seen a certain way, focus on enjoying the process, and continuously getting better and better.

Because if you really wanna be able to take consistent action towards your dreams and goals, you need to feel confident in your ability to take action.

And you don’t need an external reward for that.

Cause getting better at something you like doing is the reward.

But I do have to warn you…

Motivation goes up and down regardless of if it's intrinsic or extrinsic.

And the reality is…

You need a little bit of both to really be successful.

But even if you have the right balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, you still might have times where you feel like quitting.

And that's why mind management is so important.

Anytime you feel like quitting, my suggestion is that you take some time to write out your thoughts, so you can find out what's causing you the most trouble.

Then simply reframe your negative thoughts as positive thoughts.

And if you don't like to write a lot, bullet points can definitely get the job done.

Matter of fact, I have a bullet point journaling template you can use that will help you out a lot with that.

I hope you enjoyed today's letter.

Be easy.