I have a guitar I bought in 2014. Still can't play it.
Not because I lack musical ability or whatever. I watched the YouTube tutorials. Bought a nice case. Made a Spotify playlist of songs I wanted to learn. Did everything except actually practice.
My mate Sarah plays really well. She'll tell you she's "not musical" - her words, not mine. But she picked up her guitar most evenings for like 20 minutes. For years. That's it. That's the whole secret.
The morning argument
Every single morning my brain runs this script:
"You said you'd go for a run."
"Yeah but I'm tired. One day won't matter."
"You said that yesterday."
"Today's different. I have that meeting."
This negotiation is exhausting and I lose it more than I'd like to admit. The days I win? I didn't argue. I just... did the thing before my brain fully woke up.
Tricks that actually work for me
I'm not disciplined. I'm lazy and I've learned to work around it.
Running shoes by the door - not in the closet. If I have to go find them, I won't run. Simple as that.
Notebook stays open on my desk. Closed notebook = notebook I never write in.
I deleted social media from my phone. Not because willpower, because I know myself. Given the option, I'll scroll for an hour and feel terrible about it.
The theme here: don't fight yourself. Redesign the environment so the right choice is the easy choice.
You have to be bad first
This took me forever to learn.
I wouldn't write because my writing was bad. Wouldn't exercise because I was slow. Wouldn't meditate because my mind raced the whole time.
But like... yeah? That's how it works? You're bad, then less bad, then okay, then maybe good if you keep going. There's no shortcut where you skip to the good part.
The barrier isn't ability. It's ego. We don't want to be seen - even by ourselves - as beginners.
Anyway. I'm rambling.
Point is: just show up. Consistently. Even when you don't feel like it. Especially then, actually.
That's it. That's the whole thing.