Just Do It

     We are all familiar with Nike's famous phrase, “Just Do It", coined in the late 80s during an ad campaign. Well it stuck and has stood the test of time in more ways than one.  The "Just Do It" slogan has transcended beyond athletes, fitness, and exercise and evolved into a personal mantra that has been adopted by many everyday people who aspire to achieve ANY goal.  

    When these three short words are strung together they make a profound statement.  They are great motivators. They make just doing it seem like such a simple concept to implement.  But oftentimes we stand in our own way.  The 3 major reasons that have stood in between me just doing it and accomplishing my goals are:

• Fear of Failure - This is probably the most common blocker that stands in the way of us reaching our goals. It hurts when we set out to do something and it doesn’t work out the way that we think it should.  Frequently, we spend so much time avoiding the dreaded feelings of failure that we don’t even attempt to aim for success. But what if you had the power to change how you think about failure?  The good news is you do! What is failure anyway? You define the meaning of success.   

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Edison

• Overthinking - When attempting to do something new, I am all about consulting the “experts”.  I tend to research way too much.  I spend tons of energy and time in trying to become as close to an “expert” as possible before moving forward. Lately, I have adopted a more "learn as I go" approach to help balance things out. I’ve realized I actually enjoy the experience much better that way. For example, I recently decided to join Twitter.  Do I know all the hashtag rules and shortcuts of Twitter? No! Have I mastered how to get my point across in 140 characters or less? No! But I have managed to say enough to attract a whopping 215 followers and enjoy the journey while I’m learning.

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do" - John Wooden"

• Stuck in First Gear - It’s great to know exactly what it is that you are trying to accomplish but completely focusing on the end goal at times can be a overwhelming.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of the goal seeming so large you spin your wheels just trying to figure out how to start.  Last year, I decided I was going to run my first 5k.  This goal seemed almost impossible when thinking of running 3 miles when I couldn’t even run to the end of the block.  C25K (Couch to 5k) is a mobile app that does a great job breaking the goal down into smaller steps. Each day you do a series of walk/run intervals that increase over time.  So everyday I didn’t let completing a 5K consume me.  I just needed to focus on completing my workout for that day and rest in that it was getting me one step closer to running 3 miles. By the end of my 9 weeks…SURPRISE…I was able to run a 5k!  

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu

      So you know that thing that you have been waiting to do…get out of first gear, stop overthinking, and don't let fear or any other blocker stand in your way.  In other words..act like a tennis shoe and JUST DO IT!

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