I slept in for three hours, I had two bowls of cereal, and found myself slothing about with nothing to motivate me to do anything for the first few hours I was awake. And I felt sort of awful as I did... nothing.
It’s funny. When I imagine the most fulfilled, successful version of myself, he’s always working on something. He’s busting his ass to make something he hopes is worth witnessing, and (because this is a fantasy and everything works out) his work always pays off!
He is never lazy or unmotivated. He is always excited and articulate. He doesn’t ever feel exhausted or intimidated by the growing pile of projects and responsibilities – he accepts every new challenge without restraint of focus. He is my ambition incarnate and he doesn’t even own a pair of lazy sweatpants.
And he doesn’t exist. I don’t think he ever will – not for more than a few moments at a time, anyway. Not as anything more than a character I put on to inform my own personal actions.
So here I was, stewing in my pajamas, contemplating whether or not I would take a shower, analyzing my existence and questioning how I can begin to balance this tired, recharging version of myself with the ideal artist inside.
What can we do to retain momentum? What can I do?
I guess what I’m trying to say is this: Success and progress isn’t going to wait for us. For me or for you or even that one really really talented person you know. It is akin to riding your bike up a steep hill. We do have to keep ourselves working and pedaling forward or we’ll never reach the top. But I think it is okay to rest when we need to. It is okay to think to yourself ‘yes, I’ve done enough right now. I’m closer to my goal. I’m not going to slip and fall. I need to breathe and take a drink of water.’
Rising Fire exists partly as a vehicle to move people (founders and collaborators alike!) from the proverbial bottom of the hill to the top of the hill. It is a way to keep ourselves on a track, generating inertia, building our motivation and reinforcing what skills we have so that when we reach the top of the hill and we see the next towering even higher, we can take a little piece of that inner artist and know, deep inside, that we can keep going.
I am allowed to sleep in today, but I must be able to know myself and tell myself when it is time to get out of bed and onto my bike. There may be a lot of road ahead of us, but our legs are getting stronger.
Jakob Vernon Reha
Vice President, RFT Board of Directors