The Renewable Source

The eagerness with which anyone does any task simply requires a will to do the same. Without will, you can drag your physical body along, but the mental state collapses.

External motivation is temporary. It’s fuel being pushed into a vehicle — it drives you, but the dependence remains on the fuel. Is that healthy? Debatable. But a lucky few seem to run on something else entirely — a source that renews itself almost in perpetuity, and costs them almost nothing.

Where does that energy come from? People have theories. Then more theories. Then techniques to activate the source. For me it’s simpler than that: a mind unplagued by personal distraction has the ability to do wonders. The problem is just that such a state is rare.

You cannot stop events from distracting you. But the emotional control to not lose it — that depends on you. Holding a steady frame of mind takes a toll, and you still have to do it anyway. The mind has to learn to discipline and shield itself against continuous attempts to destabilize it.

So find that one activity that helps you hold through the tough stretches. Not because it generates the calm — but because it stops the leak long enough for whatever you already have to hold.