Apr 10
27
Just do it anyway
Life is never easy but there again who ever said it would be; there just seems to be an illusion that at some stage if we do things in a certain way life will become ‘good’ or easy. It’s just not going to happen, that is of course unless you decide it’s going to come good or get ‘better’; what ever good or better means.
This life belongs to you, you have control over it (or at least I hope you have) so it’s up to you to decide what happens next. Sounds fair enough to me, however it’s not that easy and don’t we know it. There are other people in the equation which tend to unbalance things a little. So how do you deal with this extra little bit (other people) in the equation. Let me suggest you respond to them one particular way and stick to that way every time, that way they’ll know what to expect and your life will become much easier because you’ll be doing the same thing every time. How easy does that sound? Okay let’s give it a go then.
When one of life’s challenges hit you, whether you’re expecting them or not, how do you respond? Do you respond in the same way each time? It’s great when you can guarantee the same response each time, no matter what; however as we all know that’s not always possible. Or is it? Being able to provide the perfect response each time is something we all aspire to do; so how do we achieve it. For a start off there’s the issue of worrying about what people think, their comments towards what you are doing, their opinions about how you should be doing something or whether or not you should be doing something.
The simple solution to this attitude is, “just do it anyway.” This approach is similar to the marketing message, “just do it” adopted by sportswear and equipment supplier Nike. Just do it anyway is simply saying, regardless of what others think, do it anyway. Below I’ve listed eight things you may face in your life; eight things you may wish to do but refrain from because you’ve been put off by others.
Learn to forgive
I’ve written about this previously on this blog, more recently in this post, “showing forgiveness“. You will upset many people in your life, as will many people upset you; learning how to forgive will enable you to overcome any difficult situations you find yourself in. Forgiving others is a great first step in rebuilding damaged or broken relationships. In a similar way learning to forgive yourself is an empowering way to begin to rebuild your confidence, esteem and belief within yourself.
It’s not easy to forgive people (including yourself) who have hurt you but just go ahead and do it anyway; forgive yourself.
Express kindness
How do you feel when you see people express kindness or better still how do you feel when people express kindness directly towards you. It’s a wonderful feeling isn’t it! It helps to reinforce existing relationships, repair damaged ones and empowers people to greater things. You may be encouraged to not be so liberal with your kindness because people will take advantage of you, does that really matter.
If you are concerned about the comments of others, ignore these negative comments and go ahead and express your kindness anyway.
Be successful
I’m sure we all love to be successful and many of us love to see other people be successful. However, there are those of us who love to see successful people fail and fall from grace. Many people will warn you against achieving success with comments about falling from grace and becoming the laughing stock.
If you are concerned about the comments of others, ignore these comments and be successful anyway, then share it with others including those who criticise you.
Practice honesty
Honesty is a trait that many people love to have, some of us have it while others don’t. There are of course those who claim to have but don’t, that’s dishonest to start with. People will tel you not to be so honest, claiming others will take advantage of your good nature and your honest approach to situations.
If you are concerned about the comments of others, ignore these negative comments and practice honesty anyway, you’ll benefit from it.
Development and building
Continuing to expand your life, your knowledge base and business is something practiced by many young and upcoming entrepreneurs as well as more experienced business people. Less forward thinking people will suggest you don’t waste your time with such activities and concentrate on more secure activities.
If you are concerned about the comments of others, ignore them and develop and build anyway.
Be happy
Happiness is something we all seek, however we need look no further than within ourselves. Happiness resides within all of us, I have written about this in this post, “Happiness” which you can find over on Ben Lumley’s blog, 6aliens.
There are people who will consider you a little strange, if your approach to life is one of constant happiness but why shouldn’t you be happy? If you have full control of your happiness, there’s no reason why it can’t happen.
If you are concerned with people commenting about your happiness, ignore them and do it anyway.
Be good
Ask a small child if they are ‘good’ and undoubtedly they’ll tell you most confidently that they are but they are small children and they probably don’t understand the true meaning of the word, never mind the fact that is carries a great deal of subjectivity. As adults we know more about the meaning of the word; so whether or not the word carries it’s subjectivity, are you a ‘good person’. By being a good person you’ll more than likely receive criticism for being a ‘goody goody’ which can cause a great deal of personal resentment to doing good deeds.
If you are concerned about the comments of others, ignore them and be good anyway.
Do your best
We are not all perfect, in fact we are far from it. Despite being in this position we still strive to achieve more than we are really able to do; punching above our weight I think it’s called. Peer pressure can cause a great deal of stress in us achieving perfection; however all we can do is achieve our best, nothing more and nothing less. Criticism about our performance is unjust and does nothing to help.
If you are concerned about the comments of others, ignore this criticism and do your best anyway
Thank you for reading this post, please let me know what you think and share your experiences. While you’re here please take the time to sign up for the newsletter or alternatively you may prefer to subscribe for regular updates in your favourite reader or by email.
photo credit: Morning theft
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Business Coaching, Paul Worswick. Paul Worswick said: New blog posting, Just do it anyway – http://tinyurl.com/29vvhu8 [...]
Reading: Just do it anyway | Diary 4 Life http://tinyurl.com/29vvhu8 Have a set response to opposition to help you through it.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by PaulWorswick: New blog posting, Just do it anyway – http://tinyurl.com/29vvhu8...
“respond to them one particular way and stick to that way every time, that way they’ll know what to expect and your life will become much easier because you’ll be doing the same thing every time.”
That's a really helpful thought, Paul, especially for times of great change in our lives. You are absolutely right that people may not respond to our changes positively and having a thought out response prepared, and executing it consistently can really help take the sting out of those interactions. Knowing and deciding ahead of time to ignore that comment or even having a bit of a script prepared to respond to those people, not a defiant or confrontational one, but one that builds up what you're doing and shows that person the confidence you have in yourself can do a lot to carry you through those difficult conversations and show the other person where the boundaries are.
Thanks for that comment. It's something I've done inconsistently because I haven't given it this kind of thought before. Reading it here really helped bring it together and shape it. All your examples really helped too.
I also really like this quote:
“learning to forgive yourself is an empowering way to begin to rebuild your confidence, esteem and belief within yourself”
well said Paul.
[...] Paul Worswick – Personal development coach [...]
Carlos, thanks for calling in to add your comment. I'm pleased to hear your taking so much away from reading the post. However, as for having a prepared script wasn't the thoughts I was having. Having thought about what you say it may well be something to consider. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Regards
Paul
Carlos, thanks for calling in to add your comment. I'm pleased to hear your taking so much away from reading the post. However, as for having a prepared script wasn't the thoughts I was having. Having thought about what you say it may well be something to consider. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Regards
Paul
I love the post Paul. I would tell you what my favorite part or explain why but every part has it's unique standing in my own world that would fill this entire comment box up. I just want to say it is a very powerful thing to provide your life with action. It is easy to hold back or make excuses, just do it and at the very least get whatever it is over with.
Ryan, thanks for your complimentary comment. I'm please to hear you like the post and that you are able to take something away. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Regards
Paul
I admit that I'm one of those who would do things differently each time. It's quite a struggle for me to just do it anyway, and other people are the main factors that affect this. But I can handle it and I'm aiming to attain happiness, success, and the ability to be good, while in the process.
That's an awesome list of self improvement Paul! I'm big on the happiness part. I think everything we do is ultimately to seek happiness in one way or another. Whether to improve ourselves, to get rich, to be free, etc. So yeh don't let anyone else tell you that you can't do something! Just do it anyway, and tell them: Just watch me do it!
Paul, I love this Just Do It (anyway) mind set… regardless of it is owned by some sports mega company…. the only thing that will ever make a difference in your life is when you decide to Just Do It!
Julius, thanks for dropping in to add your comment. How successful are you with your target of attaining happiness, success and the ability to be good. I'd be interested to hear how you're going on.
Regards
Paul
Ken, thanks for calling in to add to the conversation, it's great to see you here. A great response to the post and very positive. Let me know how you manage with your progress.
Regards
Paul
Mick, thank you for adding your comment. I'm pleased to see you here. I'm also pleased to hear you like the “Just Do It” philosophy. Yes, let's ignore the big fellas and 'just do it anyway'.
Regards
Paul
[...] writes articles that stand out and make me think. This week was no exception. I enjoyed reading his Just Do It Anyway article because that’s what I need sometimes. I need the kick in the pants to Just Do It [...]
[...] Just do it anyway… a familiar theme on this blog with posts like this one, but Paul is far more tactful over at Diary for Life, so go check out his taken on getting things done. [...]