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Achievement takes time. It takes about four years to earn a college degree. It takes about three years to get comfortable with graphic arts paste-up. Becoming a good boxer takes about ten years. Things worth doing take time.
The average person doesn't stay at one thing for more than six months. Here's a weird coincidence: most martial arts students last six months or less. Most alcoholics seeking recovery drop out in their first six months. Most affairs last about six months. I looked further, and discovered that the majority of those trying any endeavor drop out in six months.
In the previous section, I mentioned people who use sex to gain well-being. These individuals were experienced at finding their "mark" and in keeping up the heat. Most of their affairs lasted six months. Very few lasted longer. Only one or two might make it past the one-year mark. Now, here are skilled manipulators working on very susceptible people, yet they cannot keep interest waxing past the six-month point.
Six months! If you look at things which people intend to from they either drop out in the first weeks or in the sixth month. Why? The initial dropouts feel that the activity is not for them. They may feel uncomfortable with it, find it unappealing, or lack the determination to work it. Their reasons range from good to bad, but they leave because it didn't meet with their standards. When someone lasts more than two months, they are interested. Two to two and a half months is the "infatuation period." About a third might quit early in the game. About a sixth are infatuated enough to stick around longer. That fades fast enough. The other half lasts for a half year. Six months is the point where things get boring. By that time, there's nothing "new" any more. From six months onward, it's work. Things don't change quickly after that.
The barrier is hard to define. It is part boredom, part tedious routine, part disappointment at a supposed lack or results, and part resentment of obstacles and challenges. The real foe is not direct opposition, but but a combination of ennui and impatience. Facts show that the hurdle of boredom is worse than almost any other!
The cure is self-discipline and desire. Developing discipline is easy. A friend had a plan for doing it. In his kitchen, he had a sign that read: "Do something today that you don't want to do." The "something" was any unpleasant task or chore that one would rather evade or delay. By doing what one disliked, one could discipline himself to forge through even the dullest tasks.
Desire makes the goal worth the ennui. If you want something bad enough, nothing can stop you. Boredom, lack or results, initial failures, opposition...neither these or much of anythign else can impede you if you really want the ends toward which you are aiming. Get ready right now to accept a plain fact: achieving your goal will probably mean doing things you don't enjoy. It will also entail waiting, patience, and wading through tedious routine. Maybe you can handle direct opposition, but do you desire your achievement enough to muddle through the morass of boredom?
Willpower is sheer weight of will. We all know strong-willed people who refuse to take NO for an answer. They seem indomitable, yet how many of them are truly successful? How many have achieved any significant, enduring success? Their will is great for the short term. How good is it for a longer period of time?
Willpower is a short-range focus of attention which gets past immediate obstacles. It is useful. However, the will is best for durations of three days or less. It can be called upon for periods of up to a week, with good results. Sometimes, folks keep the will in notion for a month! After that, it flags. The momentum may continue for up to six months, but momentum eventually runs out.
Your mind is not made to maintain the will indefinitely, because doing so drains the resvoir of mental power. Sheer will puts a strain on the brain! Three days is its peak. Will starts things going and can be called uypon again and again as needed, but it cannot be the constant source of drive. Your psyche is not constructed for it. Desire - an emotion - is the long-term fuel for achieveing any enterprise. The will shall eventually run dry. Your mind has its own safety mechanisms for maintaining balance. It shuts down a will that has been overworked for too long. After all, long-term drive is the realm of an entirely different part of mind. Emotionally-charged desire can be maintained for the long haul, with the will coming into play whenever the want-power runs thin. A strong-willed person is fine for short things, but to make the long-term successes he has to have desire.
The fable of the tortoise and the hare is a good allegory for desire and will. The will is quick at the outset, but loses steam. Desire chugs along constantly without breaking stride.