The saying goes, “A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.” It’s a good metaphor for a lot more than hobbies and employment.

“I don’t feel like working out.”

“I don’t really want to practice my musical instrument.”

“I don’t have anything to write about today.”

“It’s just a practice, I’ll skip and go to the game tomorrow.”

Do I want to do it right now? Hell no! Will I feel good if I get off my butt and do it? Absolutely!

Pick the battles that matter the most… not 7 at once, 2 or 3 max. Set an intention. Do it.

Why? Because a crappy ‘I just showed up’ workout is better than another skipped workout. And 15 minutes of practice or 250 words written are all examples of things that will make you feel far better after you’ve done them, rather than how you feel not doing them.

It’s a mental shift to move the metaphorical mindset from a bad day fishing to a bad day working out/practicing/writing feeling better than a good day not doing these things, because the payoff comes after the event. When you are fishing, even the last cast has potential. But when you are doing ‘the work’ (be it in the gym, on an instrument, or writing) it still feels like ‘the work’ and is not filled with the hope and promise of a big fish.

But doing the work, even on a bad day can surprise you. You might (totally unexpectedly) hit a personal best in the gym. You might play a chord combination that you’ve struggled with for weeks. You might pump out 1,000 words, or the best piece of writing you’ve done in a while. In other words you might just hook a big one. And realistically you might not, but still the act of doing anything is far more rewarding than doing nothing.

Skip another day and the only thing you’ll catch is the desire to skip again.

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Here is some Monday motivation from Jocko Willink.