We all know the famous slogan of, “Just Do It!” from Nike. Their television ads are very successful and appeal to some of our most basic instincts and desires. The ads always have an athletic man or woman lacing up their running shoes tightly while wearing a look of determination and victory on their face that the rest of us try to imagine on ours. What’s more basic and human than going for a hard and fast run? What’s better than trying to surpass our last best time? These Nike, “Just Do It!” ads appeal to us on so many different levels that its no wonder why they are such a success.
Wouldn’t it be nice to feel like the determined runner in the Nike ad all the time who is Just Doing It? Wouldn’t it be nice to never, ever again, to feel like a trapped victim to this world’s ways? It’s kind of empowering when we think about taking charge of our human flight or fight responses and using them to create the future that we want, instead of the one that society leaves us by default, right?
Well, guess what? We can take charge of our own lives if we just do it! However, beware, not everything will go our way. But in truth, we don’t want it to. It’s these little things that we cannot control that makes life more interesting and sometimes sets us off running in a better direction. What should matter the most to us is that we properly handle what the world throws our way, regardless of what it is. And how do we prepare ourselves to properly handle what the world dumps upon us? Simple. Experience is the answer. Just having ‘experience’ will help us know that we can survive; and that assurance is the first step to succeeding in life.
We Need a More Nuanced Way of Saying “Just Do It”
People with low confidence and/or depression endure additional frustration when confronted with the attitude of just do it.
Popularized by an immense athletics corporation, it’s hard not to see the mass-appeal of this ubiquitous saying. — And of its more jaunty sibling: Nothing to it but to do it.
Ah, how quaintly it conveys confidence and a winning spirit.
Unfortunately, it’s hardly translatable into utility.
Two reasons for this:
1) First of all, it only presents an attitude that, when paired with persistence, focus, and above all a crystal clear plan, will help you endure. But when you have neither, what good is a one-sentence peptalk in itself?
In other words: I should just do what, exactly?
And when? And how? For how many hours a day? What time of day? And until when? And succeeded by what?
2) Second, depression and low confidence is impossible to understand unless you’ve been through it yourself. And the people who are keen on giving well-meant advice often have no clue what kind of situation they’re addressing… :
“Feel depressed? Well, you just gotta pull yourself together!”
“Can’t lose weight? Well, you just gotta eat less and exercise more!”
“No luck with the ladies? Well, you just gotta be yourself!”
“Don’t have any friends? Well, you just gotta have more confidence!”
*SIGH*
Look: Building one’s confidence and/or breaking free of depression can be tough. Solving those issues can take months, or even years. And…
If you have neither confidence nor direction in life, being met with an attitude of just do it isn’t only inappropriate; it can seem downright insulting.
If we want to carry something out, we gotta be specific about it. Only THEN does it make sense to talk about “just” doing something.
First, however, we gotta figure out what we’re gonna do. And for many people, this in itself is a biggie.
(Hell, it took me +33 years!)
Specifically, the best way to get started on this is to start walking one path. Plain and simple.
Pick it out of interest. If you don’t feel like you’re going anywhere, pretty much anything will do.
This isn’t a mandatory future career we’re embarking on here. We merely walk a path because any momentum is essential for any progress, and because standing still will only cause us to deteriorate.
Also, if at any point we feel like changing directions, we can always do that. And we will have gathered valuable experience for our onward journey.
ACTION ITEM:
Write down at least three things you’d like to answer the next time someone gives you the happy-go-lucky attitude of just do it.
No need to be belligerent. Just think about what you’d most of all want people to understand, and use that as a benchmark.
Optionally, if what you need might be direction, write down three things you’d want to pursue. List any pros and cons beneath each one. If you have no interests whatsoever, take comfort in the fact that you likely have worlds of undiscovered interests ahead.
Just Do You Boo – An Angelic Message
Just do you, boo! Recently I received a very profound message from an “angelic” source. It was truly amazing and life transforming. Crazy right, who would think that lil ‘ol me would be touched by an angel, but I’m here to say it’s true. Well, it’s not as supernatural as I have made it out to sound but the message was profound and it changed my perspective during some dark days.
Recently I had been questioning just about everything. You know one of those slippery slide episodes. For me it usually starts with a significant realization, what I call a “LOVE” awareness or when I have boldly stepped into my magnificence. You knows you are climbing the ladder feeling pretty spunky about how your life is progressing. Feeling like you just might reach the top of the world and then there it is the slippery slide. Sometimes the decent is super-fast “swish” and other times it is a slow leg sticking painful ride. This particular decent was one of those and I found myself stuck. Not able to loosen myself to climb back up and holding on for dear life so as not to slip any further. The specifics to the events that lead to this predicament really are insignificant. Let’s just call them a “mal-adjustment”. I had slipped into fear. Fear of who I had become, fear of who I should become, fear of who others thought I had become, fear of who others thought I should become. I had a million you should do this, you shouldn’t do that going round and round in my head.
Just 2 weeks ago I was at the top, looking back at all of my accomplishments in the past year. I had been feeling very Lion-ish. I had been celebrating my perfection and my magnificence and celebrating the conquering of fear. Then swoosh, I was on the slippery slide of fear again. I am amazed at how sneaky fear can be. The false self, ego, parasite or shadow self comes slithering in undetected and Wham-O you are on the slide of descent. But STOP! Haven’t I learned how to recognize and counter act the invasion and decent. Indeed I have. It’s called support (thank you Sue Paige and Pathways). I have learned to turn to family, friends, guides, angels, and my higher source. I can stop the decent with a simple plea for help and the acceptance of that help.
I say “simple” plea for help, but for me, it is the most difficult thing to do. You see I have spent a lifetime being the supporter. I am the backbone that others depend on, the calm in the storm or the peace keeper. So I wallowed for a bit and then I reached out. I talked, I prayed, I meditated and I connected with nature. Then the message came.
During a significant breakdown where I was questioning everything even my healing practice, my husband looked me in the eye and asked do you believe in your healing? The answer was yes, the answer has always been yes, that is the one thing that I do know. I was led to Reconnective Healing precisely because of its foundation; the stepping into pure love and away from fear. Reconnective Healing is founded in light and love. It steps away from fear, lack, limitations, the illusion of separation and the need to control and/or judge. Reconnective Healing is not just about healing on a physical level it is about life progress. There is no room for fear in the knowing that there is a greater power than I to conduct the healing. I am the facilitator, the conduit, the connection. My husband looked at me again and said then “Just Do You Boo”! You sees his daughter “Angelica” had helped him recently through a rough patch with the simple statement. “Just Do You Boo”! and now he was saying it to me.
Wow, could it be that simple? Yes it can. When I sat with this message, prayed on this message, walked with this message, talked about and shared this message. It became crystal clear. The only true way for me to continue ascending the slippery slide of life is to be the most authentic me that I can be. My Authentic self, the self, created in the likeness of my creator is one of pure love. I am light, I am love.
I had allowed the smoky mirror of this world dim my vision but behind all the veils my magnificence shines. When times get tough, when you doubt your direction remember the “angelic” words “Just Do You Boo”.