The Swoosh Episode
You know what you want to do, but you just can't seem to get it going. Why not? Is it so simple as "Just do it?" Maybe not. But, together, we got this. No change that we desire is truly out of our reach if we can master ourselves. Let's go!
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The Swoosh Episode
You know this slogan. When you see the swoosh, what do you think? The answer is supposed to be, “Just do it.” It’s good advice, sometimes. It works in those cases when we’re close to being ready to take the action we know will lead us in a better direction. For a three-word slogan to make a difference and push us into gear, we probably are already darn close because that’s a little push.
What if we’re not in that position? What if we know we need to act but somehow, we just don’t? We might dip our toes in but never jump into the pool. Have you ever been in that position? In those cases, what goes on in our minds? We hem and haw. We hesitate. We come up with reasons to do something else. One part of us wishes to take that new road. We know, at least, intellectually that it will be worth the effort and the risk but we still won’t act.
Sometimes, we’ll act half-heartedly. We’ll do a little but give up before the action is complete. We know we should just do it, but we don’t. Again, I ask why. Maybe your answer is some version of this. We’re conflicted, and that’s right. Part of us wants to take action, but there are parts of us that aren’t sold. Let’s take a closer look at what that might be about.
First, let’s acknowledge that here is where things get complicated. Not all courses of action give us the same kinds of resistance. Some things are physically difficult. They require effort, maybe pain. I wouldn’t wish to go run three miles right now, for example. That would hurt. I can feel the ache in my ankles, knees, and back just thinking about it. For lots of people, that would barely be a warm-up.
Other actions involve mental effort. Let’s say you want to understand Carl Jung, Fyodor Dostoevsky, James Joyce, or Friedrich Nietzsche and you decide to read their collective works. That’s some in-depth, difficult reading and thinking right there. It’s not an easy task. Again, for some people, that would be reading for enjoyment. For others, it’d be like me trying to run a marathon. It is not going to happen.
Some things are harder for some people than others. I get it. It follows that when we struggle to act and keep at it so that we get the benefit of that action, it’s because we perceive the action to be difficult in some way, physically or mentally. Does that explain our hesitancy in full? Not always. We all do difficult things, at least, sometimes and difficulty is one type of resistance. There are others. Sometimes we might either consciously or subconsciously face Sophie’s choice of sorts. We’re not willing to undertake a course of action when it comes at the price of sacrificing another we value.
Just Do It: When we struggle to act and keep at it so that we get the benefit of that action, it’s because we perceive the action to be difficult in some way, physically or mentally.
To dramatize the point, let’s say the action we select is to optimize our physical health by our dietary choices. We decide for instance that we’re not going to eat processed foods but there are plenty of processed foods we love like cheeses, meats, candies, and snacks. A part of us wants to enjoy the health benefits of avoiding them. Another part wants the pleasure of those tasty treats. It feels like a loss for that part of us or a sacrifice when we’re deprived of what we want.
We found that some actions, though we understand it be worth the effort, are too difficult for us to take and we’ve seen that for other actions. We’re just conflicted about them. We’ll have to sacrifice something we know to gain another thing that, at this point, is theoretical. We only believe it will be worthwhile. Are there other obstacles that keep us from just doing it? Yes. So far, we’ve been talking about our inner battle, the one in our mind.
Other people enter the picture too, don’t they? Sometimes the new action we wish to take will impact people around us. They may be supportive or they may be resistant. Often, they’re both. They say they’re supportive but their actions undermine our efforts to make the change. In those cases, it’s likely that they have the same inner conflict we talked about in giving up on healthy, but delicious foods. They intellectually know that the change is positive for us, but there may be parts of them that fear or distrust the change. What if we’re successful? What if we transform so much that the relationship balance goes out of whack? That can be scary.
Do you see a pattern in the resistances we’ve considered thus far? We fear the required pain and effort. We fear the loss of something else we value when we choose one action over another. We fear the impact it has upon those around us and those around us fear the future that the successful change may bring. The common element here is the emotion of fear.
In episode 7, we identified consternation as the prevailing emotion that limits our power and the pain quadrant of the Eye of Power Model. Remember, this is the place where we take self-directed action. How does this help us push past the resistance that keeps us from taking the action we know will expand our agency and improve our lives?
This is where the swoosh has it right. When we say, “Just Do It,” we imply that we should act no matter how we might feel about it. That’s close to the definition of courage. Being afraid but doing the right thing anyway. Step one is to see and acknowledge the fear. Step two is to act anyway. Step three is to dynamically steer. What I mean by that is to receive feedback, learn, and make appropriate adjustments. That doesn’t mean I have a stitch in my side, I better give up on this run.
Courage is being afraid but doing the right thing anyway.
We must expect the discomforts of effort. We’re going to get tired. We’re going to feel sore. We’re going to be jealous of our friends drinking and eating foods we’ve resolved to avoid. We’re going to feel like we’re missing out on this or that recreation or amusement, but we do it anyway. Dynamically steering means we remain open to the learning that comes with experience. We try new things. We learn stuff about those things that we didn’t know when we started. We then apply those insights to improve the returns on our efforts. We create a positive feedback loop.
This is all much easier when we’re not alone. If you can get someone who has experience and can shorten the learning curve, it can save considerable time and effort. If you can get an accountability partner in your new discipline or whatever it is, do it. That can make a big difference when it comes to staying on track. I invite you to consider the Eye of Power Community too. That’s exactly what it’s for. If you’re wondering about that, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. It’s time to take on that challenge, whatever it may be. Together, let’s go.