Doing Nike One Better

I think every somewhat-literate person on the planet—certainly those in the Americas and Europe, and much of Asia—know the Nike slogan, “Just Do It”. I’ll admit to liking it at first. It was inspiring, motivating ... instead of sinking in the quagmire of doubts and fears, just do it! To me there was an implicit promise of seeing things all the way through, and if the result wasn’t exactly as you envisioned, well, you just did it, and that should count for something, right?

Well, leave it to me to find a way to create obstacles out of that inspirational phrase ... but I’ve hit on an alternative that works much better for me.

See, for me “just do it” carries much of the baggage that considering any big goal or unfamiliar task has: it’s daunting to contemplate all that needs to be accomplished to get it done. Often, I don’t even see a way to just do it when I’m considering a big project—sometimes that comes from unfamiliarity with certain steps, but other issues, such as how to pay for everything, can creep in as well. Also, just doing it can lead to not thinking something through far enough before jumping in. Passionate Snake that I am, I have been burned by leaping before looking enough times that the push to just do it prompts an almost reflexive response to back off for a bit. Trouble is, the backing off extends and extends and extends ... and there I am, still stuck, still wanting to accomplish something but no closer to it than I was months before.

My approach, which I am a little embarrassed to admit came to me just recently, after years of mulling over that damn Nike slogan at varying levels of conscious thinking, is a twist on my “being and becoming” ramble. It explicitly incorporates the acknowledgement that things aren’t always in one’s control, that change is always part of living. To my mind, it gives me permission to consider, to tweak, to become, to create and change and refine my destination while I am on the journey. And it applies as much to changing my way of being—including even my outlook on life if I want—as it does to accomplishing tasks and goals.

So what is this amazing, all-powerful phrase?

Just start it.

Focusing on starting some task or goal keeps the scale small, which makes it easier to keep some perspective about what one’s doing. It’s also easier to set up a positive environment, where forward steps often bring about a sense of accomplishment (perhaps even relief that the goal/task isn’t as formidable as previously thought) that leads one to keep going forward. And of course, if something arises that makes it clear something needs to go differently than one expected, there’s less likelihood that thoughts of failure will arise; after all, it’s just a change, an unexpected fork in the path one has started down. To me, it’s like staying in the illuminated area the headlights provide, instead of overrunning them.

I have also begun trying to apply it in “educational” situations with the snolfs. Darlin’ Daughter seems to be daunted by the challenge of learning to read; she’s known her letters for years, and certainly enjoys books very much, but somehow or other seems to have gotten the idea that learning to read is hard. Any use of that phrase sets her on edge. So instead of focusing on the explicit task, and the just do it of getting it all figured out, I have started incorporating phonics into various things we do together, most notably when she works on writing (which she loves to do). I recently got a very good book on phonics instruction, and have been using that as a guide to not only focusing her attention on the most regular letter combinations for our sounds, but also for facts about the English language that the snolfs find almost as interesting as I do. Focusing on the smaller scale has resulted in rapid improvement in her abilities; and all the while she enjoys the process instead of resists it.

Yeah, I am not expert at this yet. I still have a lot of messy areas in my life, and it’s hard to keep on top of everything every day. Perhaps the best thing about “just start it” for me is that, when I fail to keep at something I’ve set out to accomplish, instead of berating myself for failing to do it, I can tell myself, “Hey, I’ve started that ... Time to finish it/continue with it.” It also helps me be more mindful of the becoming I want to do, and whether I am making progress or straying off into the underbrush. For me, that being more mindful is ample reward in and of itself.