Inquisitive.me

When we struggle to get things done, we often hear advice like: “You just have to want it badly enough!” or “Just find a way to motivate yourself.”

Honestly? That kind of advice rarely helps. Most of the time, it just makes us feel like it’s our fault for not being motivated enough.

Here’s the thing: most of us already want to get things done. We crave the sense of completion, the relief, the results. But wanting alone often isn’t enough to actually take action.

Motivation is sold as some kind of magic fix. The message is: “If you really wanted it, you’d just do it.” Real life isn’t that simple.

When motivation doesn’t work, the next suggestion is usually: “Then you just need discipline.”

Discipline is often framed as the opposite of motivation—it’s about forcing yourself to push through, no matter how you feel. You rely on it when you have to do things you don’t necessarily want to do, like tackling laundry or washing dishes.

Even discipline can fail when the obstacles feel too big.

That’s why Ali Abdaal, author of Feel-Good Productivity, suggests a different approach: Unblock.

He explains it with a simple but brilliant analogy:

👟 The Pebble-in-the-Shoe Example

Imagine you have a pebble stuck in your shoe, but you need to walk to your friend’s house to make it in time for dinner.

Here’s how it might go:

• Procrastination: You stay put because walking sounds miserable. You end up missing dinner—and maybe you don’t even get an invite next time.
• Motivation: ou hype yourself up, telling yourself the dinner will be worth the pain. You start walking… but collapse halfway.
• Discipline: You grit your teeth and force yourself to walk, pebble and all. You make it—but you’re exhausted, maybe even injured.
• Unblock: You pause for just a minute, notice what’s making walking so hard, take off your shoe, remove the pebble—and then you can get to dinner without the unnecessary suffering.

Motivation tries to make you want it.

Discipline pushes you to do it anyway.

Unblock helps you remove what’s standing in your way.

We’ve seen how motivation and discipline can only take us so far, it’s time to try something different. Instead of forcing yourself to want it more or grit it out, let’s focus on unblocking the path—removing the little obstacles that are secretly holding you back.

🧪 Let’s Experiment

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Remove the small obstacles and momentum follows.

Next time you’re stuck and can’t seem to get started, don’t reach for motivation or grit right away. Instead, try spotting what’s actually in your way—your own “pebble in the shoe.”

🎯 Try This:

Next time you’re struggling to take action, pause and ask yourself one simple question:

“What’s the pebble in my shoe?”

Sometimes it’s fear. Sometimes it’s uncertainty, overwhelm, or just not knowing where to start. And sometimes, you don’t need more motivation or willpower—you just need a moment to spot and clear whatever’s blocking you.

Here’s a simple way to do it:

• Write down in one sentence why it feels hard to start right now.
• Then, ask yourself: “What’s the next step?“ Find the easiest next step you could take to make that specific obstacle a little smaller. Not a giant leap—just one small move. Because often, it’s not about pushing harder. It’s about removing the resistance slowing you down.

🧠 Final Thought:

Unblocking your path isn’t flashy. It’s quiet, simple, and surprisingly effective. Start small, clear the pebbles, and notice how much easier progress becomes when the obstacles aren’t standing in your way.

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Keep it simple, stay curious, and keep learning—you’ve got this.

Take care,

Carina 🦊