One of my two New Years Themes is "Do It"
Long before Nike started using the motto “Just Do It”, my boss was using the phrase at work. He didn’t (and still doesn’t) like too many questions. So, if I was working on a project and had a decision to make, plus a question or two, his response would be “Just do it. I’ll check the whole thing when you’re done.” To me this seemed like a total waste of time. What if I made the wrong decisions? What if I did the whole project wrong? Why not just answer my questions, so I can do it right the first time?
In his mind, it was easier to check it as a whole project than to answer individual aspects of it; making decisions about each little thing when he wasn’t directly working on the project. Even if I missed the mark on it, most of what I had done would still be salvageable.
Over time, I began to see this as a useful way to address most things in life. Before using this as a type of "life philosophy," I’d think something to death before acting on it, and that still didn’t ensure a correct decision; it just delayed the decision, and left me questioning what I was doing. Sometimes, overthinking caused me to be overwhelmed, and so I just did nothing.
Now that I’ve conscientiously put it into practice, it’s worked out great for me:
I wanted to go to Europe. So, at ages 49 and 50, I went to Europe.
I wanted to get my Bachelor’s Degree. So, at age 52, I got my Bachelor’s degree.
I wanted to write a book. So, at age 52, I wrote a book (unpublished).
There are so many things in this life that I still want to do. I need to get off my butt, and just
do it!
