Walt and I are busy preparing for our weekly webinar: How to Make 2014 Your Best Year Ever. This week’s topic? Taking Action. It promises to be a rather short class because the whole secret to getting what you want can be summed up in two words: Do it. I know you’ve heard Nike say it before, so it’s not like we’ve come up with a novel concept. But do it. Just freaking do it. Regardless of your mood.
I go over this concept a lot with my writing students. The ones who wonder what they’re supposed to do when they don’t feel like writing, particularly during their scheduled block time. When they’re just not “feeling it.” Like, they want to know the secret to connecting with their Muse.
Puh-lease. As if motivation, or vibing off a Greek myth, were the pre-requisites for anything that needs to freaking get done.
I have coaching clients who insist they want to get healthy, to drop some of the lard that wreaks havoc on their confidence, who can’t seem to get into an exercise routine. They don’t want to get out of bed at the ass crack of dawn, jump in a cold car and head to the gym because they “don’t really enjoy it.” As if I like hauling my carcass out from under the blankets, slapping on multiple layers of stinky running gear, and heading out the door; in the dark, when it’s -3 degrees.
Lord, If you only heard what goes on inside my head.
I ran into Mel Robbins’ Ted talk that expands on this Just-Do-It philosophy. If you’re feeling stuck, if you want to figure out how to make yourself do the things you know you should do, then listen up.
Here’s a short list of terrific take home points:
- Auto pilot mode is your enemy
- You can outmaneuver your hand brake
- Fine is a dirty, four-letter word
You can save yourself an awful lot of anguish by forgetting about how you feel, and just doing it. Trust me when I tell you that nobody likes it.
