On rekindling your joy for your craft (and why you must)

Mastery Den, Saturday Edition, 4-min read.

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I've been writing and publishing my ideas online for nearly two decades. 

People ask me how I stayed motivated all this time and continue showing up each day to write and share.

Strictly, this isn’t true. I am not always motivated, and I’d often just rather eat Cheetos and watch videos about building cabins. But, I have stayed relatively consistent overall with my main projects of writing, coaching and developing my online businesses over the years.

First, I found I couldn’t last if I didn’t enjoy my work at least most of the time. 

That's why it's down to you to follow your curiosities and fascinations and choose projects that interest you. 

Much of this comes down to experimentation and figuring out what gels with you. A fair chunk of this is also down to choosing to enjoy whatever you’re doing. You do have that choice.

I've always enjoyed writing, for example, and I'm continually driven by the joy I get from seeing my words make some small dent in the world in a way that ultimately improves other people's lives.

It aligns with my wider purpose of encouraging more people to create and lead authentically. Knowing that my work contributes to this purpose is important and keeps me in the game, too.

Secondly, understand that those who do well always spend more time and attention on what they see success with.

• If it's painting, they spent a lot of time painting. 

• If it's writing, they spent a lot of time pounding keys. 

• If it's singing, they spent a lot of time using those vocal chords.

So, if you want to do well and make more of an impact in anything, you must be willing to spend more time than most putting attention into the thing. It really doesn’t get more complicated than that at the core.

This is why you have a huge advantage when you see what you are doing as a craft to be mastered. Because any form of mastery requires lots of time and attention.

It's a long-term game - not an overnight thing. 

When you switch your attention away from quick results to getting a little better at the craft every day, you'll begin to fall in love with it.

And that's the kind of energy you want if you're on a path of getting super hot at any one thing.

I know I get way more jacked up excited when I focus on becoming the best at what I do.

This is because - to become highly proficient - you are forced to focus on the process, rather than the outcome. This brings you out of your head and into the now. This is what rekindling your joy for your craft is all about.

Getting too hung up on outcomes is more for amateurs, who eventually burn out.

It’s why so many people quit when things don’t go their way. They get disappointed easily because they rely on views, likes and money fast - all results. Their measure for success is unhelpful in this way.

That’s not to say you can’t keep an eye on successful outcomes in your work. But you will give up easily if this is your only indicator of what’s worth doing.

Be careful where you choose to place your attention. If it’s scattered, there will be little opportunity to develop true mastery, and this will catch up with you.

If you don’t see the results you want right away, that’s okay because by doing the thing, you develop your craft and resilience, which is already a success.

The process is something within your control. The results - less so, at least indirectly. 

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When you define success as developing your craft - bit by bit - you can't lose.

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The above is an excerpt from my upcoming book: ‘Creatively Jacked: 42 Badass Motivation Tips for Ambitious Creators.‘ If you want to hear about its release first and be in line for special launch bonuses, follow this ‘Alex early readers’ mailing list.

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