The One Thing Keeping Your Fire Burning After Motivation Fades

Photo by Sanket Sawale

Recently, we shared Week One of our Topic of the Month on Consistency, which we described as a fire we want to keep burning long after our motivation wanes. Here in Week Two, we discuss the most important element of that fire and how to keep it burning day after day. 

Most survivalists talk about techniques not only for starting a fire but also for keeping it going for hours or even days. To create a fire, we need three things: a spark, oxygen, and fuel. The spark is the initial idea or motivation that drives something to happen. Oxygen or air allows the fire to breathe and is often linked to being just as important as fuel, because if you don’t have anything for the fire to continue to burn, it will extinguish itself. The one word that encompasses both the oxygen and the fuel for our fire to continue burning big, bold, and bright is our habits. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

You see, Consistency is always happening. It doesn't require intention because it’s always at work. Similar to the Slight Edge Effect, we are either consistently moving toward or away from our goals, meaning that everything we do creates a ripple effect on our trajectory toward what we want. Taking a moment to breathe from our pace is one thing, but letting multiple days or even a week get in the way of what we are pushing for will definitely knock us off our timeline.

One question we can ask ourselves is: What is one habit (good or bad) we repeat daily, and is it helping or hindering our growth? If it moves us toward our plan and goal, we should keep doing it. If it is slowing us down, we have to consider taking a break from it for a while or deleting it altogether. Often, it’s what we do on a regular basis that makes the difference in who we want to be, what we want to achieve, and when we will reach our desired destination. Now is a great time to look long and hard at our habits, weigh out what needs to be adjusted, and then implement the steps quickly to keep our fire burning for a very long time.

Each month, we develop Character Development Topics that break growth into weekly, accessible ideas. These lessons and more are available on our YouTube Channel, Facebook, and Instagram.

Stay tuned for upcoming insights on CONSISTENCY and other topics. Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media for regular updates. 

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Guro Larry, Sonja, Lauren & Tori St. Clair
Martial Way Legacy
"A Compass to the Preservation of Bruce Lee’s Philosophy and Legacy"
http://www.martialwaylegacy.com
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