There are those times in life when we simply don’t want to.
“I just don’t want to,” is what we say.
And, “that” thing for each of us, is unique. But for us, it feels difficult. Hard. Bothersome. Whatever “that” thing is.
As a kid, I used to hate to take the time to go to the restroom. To pee. It seemed like a terrible interruption in whatever I was doing. For crying out loud. I could have been in the middle of being a super hero — Auquaman, or Hercules. Or I might have been scurrying about and collecting good rocks. Or playing tag football in the middle of Bruce Avenue. Or. The worst. Swimming at Sherwood Forest Pool. And when the urge hit, I would hold it for as long as I possibly could. Then, finally, when the pain of it was more than I could bear, I took the time to go.
There were other tasks I didn’t like to do then. Things I don’t mind so much now. Like doing the dishes.
But as an adult, I still run into some undertakings that are a real pain in the bootie. At least they feel that way, in the moment.
Sometimes, our resistance is momentous. To whatever that thing is. But there can be help. These days, we have motivators, and life coaches, and such. Those people there, in the wings, urging us on. I’ve never been to a motivational speaker deal. Never had a life coach either. Which may explain a lot.
Regardless, there are a blue million people willing to sell you their coaching services, and some people truly thrive with their help.
I think it all really started snowballing with Nike. It was the ad agency guy, Dan Wieden, who coined the now-famous slogan “Just Do It.” That was way back in 1988, if you can believe it. Nike’s ad campaign went large.
But it is pretty catchy, if you think about it. Just Do It.
There is one better though.
I was at a women’s retreat sort-of-thing, a long while ago. We had different chores that we each had to do in our dormitory area. It was all part of the communal living experience, I suppose. One of my “new made” friends was named Laura. She was a lawyer from the Chicago area. When someone would gruff at a task, she would bump them on the arm and say “Two minutes. It will take you two minutes. Just get on to doing whatever you have to do, and that’s only two minutes from your entire big life.”
It has been about 15 years since then, and I still hear her voice. Saying that.
Two Minutes. Just Do It. Two Minutes.
And that has been the motivator that I’ve used ever since then. When I run into a chore, or concern, that I have to complete. Unwillingly. Most of the time, though, I’m cursing a little bit at Laura, when I am 43 minutes into shoveling snow, and my hands have frozen right off my wrists. “Damn your two minutes Laura,” I say, as I wield my snow shovel toward the heavens.
I’m only telling you this, because I didn’t feel like writing this blog tonight.
And then I heard it again.
Two Minutes.
And here I am.
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“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
― Aristotle
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“What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing.”
― Pablo Picasso
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“Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.”
― George Bernard Shaw
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