Forget the Secret, take a hint from Nike.

As a teenager, I read more than a few “self help” books. I was going to be successful and rich!

Only it didn’t work out that way. Probably because most of the books can be summed up in two sentences:

Keep on thinking about what you want.
If you don’t get it it’s because you didn’t want it enough.

You don’t have to actually do anything differently, you just have to think about it. And when doing the same old thing gets you the same old results, it’s because you didn’t want it hard enough.

Not every book from the self help genre falls into this category – I did learn a few useful things (mostly financial). Even so, I have trouble putting those lessons into practice.

Anyway, because I’d mostly been told/taught/whatever to just keep on thinking about what I want without doing anything about it, I sort of let things happen rather than making them happen. So I live in a tiny apartment, work at a menial job I’d rather not be doing, and I’m taking 10 years to complete what was supposed to be a 4 year bachelor degree.

But no more! Last weekend I realised that, yet again, I’d set aside an assignment “because there’s plenty of time” only to have the due date “creep up on me”. When I was younger, I was put under a lot of pressure to do well at school so if I don’t think I can do really well I usually don’t bother. Not this time though – I put in as much time and effort as I could and ended up with something that (I hope) will at least get a passing grade. It won’t be a high distinction, but between that, the second assignment, the tutorials and the exam I hope to get at least a credit.

Which brings me to the Nike connection. Nike is the Greek goddess of victory who was named after a shoe company (or is it the other way around?) One of her/their/somebody’s slogans is “Just Do It”. Having “Just Done It” with the assignment, I’ve started to apply this to other areas. Since last weekend, I have:

• changed my Twitter bio from a Groucho Marx quote to something that actually describes me.
• added $20 to my home deposit savings fund (which is $20 more than went in over the last 3 months)
• organised replacements for some furniture that’s falling apart.
• planned the personal website I’ve been thinking about for years. (I can’t afford hosting just yet, but it’ll be a priority once my current bills have been paid).

So forget about “the power of positive thinking”, forget about writing down your goals and looking at them five times a day, forget about affirmations and mantras and just do it.

Edited to add: I got that assignment back last week. Got a P2 which is not fantastic but it’s still a pass. Second assignment is on track, due in June.

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