STAYING MOTIVATED (On Your Project)
This month’s topic for my column is the perfect vehicle for using clichés and quotes. So this should be easy, I can just copy a bunch of stuff. Seriously though, we had a great meeting last month with Addison Pemberton and Rob Neils imparting great words of wisdom on getting our projects completed. This was followed by a round table discussion with many members adding to the knowledge and tricks to stay on task. We all left so motivated that following the meeting many of us went to the bar and goofed off for the rest of the evening.
Addison kicked things off with a good list of motivational affirmations. But the one he stressed the most was “do something every day.” The idea is to keep your head in the project. If you quit working on it, you quit thinking about it. In Addison’s words, 50% of the project is mental. So keep your head in the project. And this gives me my first lead in for a quote, “To cease to act is to cease to exist.” (Voltaire)
Rob Neils took the floor and gave us a very psycho-analytical approach to the problem. One should have peace with themselves, peace with their spouse and they should love their airplane. If you love your airplane it will love you. Although this side of the debate may have been getting a little too “touchy/ feely” for some, I have been researching the topic and believe I can elaborate on what Rob was conveying. The heart of the problem is that we have been programmed to seek pleasure and avoid pain. In the short term it may appear to be more pleasurable to sit on the couch, eat ice cream and watch an episode of “2 ½ Men.” By contrast, where is the pleasure in going to the garage and sanding on your wing for another 3 hours? But we need to suppress the desire for short term pleasure and use our rational minds to see the long term pleasure in completing the airplane tasks. Think about it, after the sitcom is over, the momentary pleasure has passed and now you have regret and disappointment. You’ve just wasted another hour; the ice cream defeated your diet plans, and nothing more got finished on your project. If you had worked on your project you would have had the pleasurable feeling of accomplishment. And in the long term the rewards are greater. Actually, with the TV/couch/ice cream scenario, there are no long term rewards. But getting back to Rob’s point, you really need to love the building and the airplane. With these attitudes, it becomes a pleasure and a treat to go to the garage. And there should be another quote I can stick in here, “The lazier a man is, the more he plans to do tomorrow.” (Norwegian proverb.)
The television was repeatedly mentioned as a common culprit for interfering with productivity. As usual, many denounced it as an evil medium, but than all probably went home and turned it on. Long time dedicated member Gene Soper offered the observation that the only good control on the TV is the “off” switch. While TV can be a distraction to productivity, I believe I came up with the best alternative. Rather than fight it, I just put a TV in my garage. And not all the programming is bad. I have actually been known to tune in the history channel, especially the nights that “2 ½ Men” isn’t on. Next quote: “The laziest man I ever knew put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.” (W.C. Fields)
All in all it was a great meeting. The sharing of thoughts and motivational ideas brought a personal side to the meeting. And with the added idea of loving our airplane and it loving us, it almost felt like a group hug was building. Fortunately we concluded the meeting in the nick of time before that happened. In conclusion, what I have gleaned from listening and observing others and recalling my most productive periods, the best thing one can do is “just keep at it.” Our aversion to the “work” involved is mainly in our minds. I find that once I get out to the garage and get to work, I really enjoy it. And I enjoy the positive results from my actions. Those feelings of accomplishment are great. Don’t think of your project as this infinite number of tasks, if you do, then the concept becomes overwhelming, and that alone will keep one from acting. Think of what small tasks you will complete today. One fallacy that we commonly entertain is that motivation precedes action. Actually, it is the other way around. It is the ACTION that creates motivation. And on that note I will conclude with this quote, “Determine never to be idle….it is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” (Thomas Jefferson)