Haileybury Gazette | Hope | Issue 9

There often comes a time in a
person's life when it feels like all of
your ambition and determination has
run its course and been depleted.
You get stuck in this state of
indifference, losing all your previous
zest and motivation. For some, this
can last from a couple of days to
months on end and escaping the
talons of this ‘humdrum existence’ is
not a very easy undertaking. But
when people finally decide to stand up against the tide of life and take the reins of their life,
they often set themselves up for failure. They create ambitious and unrealistic goals. They
make schedules that leave hardly any free time and fill it with non-stop work. What they don't
realize is that this is a trap. How are you supposed to muster the self discipline and a neverbefore-seen
adherence to a work ethic out of nowhere? You don’t, it's impossible. What ends
up happening, of course, is that you don't end up matching the expectations. You give up
after a few days and after you give up you recede back to your old self.
Is this how you would treat a person you’re responsible for? No, you wouldn’t. Take for
example, your pet; in order to instill a new skill or a trick in a dog, you must always reward it
with a treat as affirmation for their work. Act in a similar way. For all your hard work -- give
yourself a treat -- it doesn’t have to be a literal one, but it has to be something you enjoy.
Don’t just pile up work on work on work. It’s unsustainable. Instead, be honest with yourself,
make goals that are realistic and never forget to reward yourself.
“Start with yourself. Take care of yourself. Define who you are.
Choose your destination.” These are the words of Jordan
Peterson, an acclaimed author and a clinical psychologist, who
created the theory of “treating yourself like some you are
responsible for helping”.
Post scriptum: if you find this advice particularly helpful, I would
recommend reading Jordan Peterson’s book “12 Rules For Life”.
It contains much useful advice on how to navigate this world, which
partially inspired this article.
Jordan Peterson
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