ux | work | life matters

Day 15 | Do what you say you’re going to do

I’m a firm believer in that how you approach things has a profound impact on your life, just like that famous quote by Henry Ford:

Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.

I also believe that you’ll be better off if you do what you say you’re going to do and avoid the mental baggage of “I didn’t do that when I said I was going to”. To some extent I’m sure it depends on the kind of person you are and how much not doing what you say you’re going to do bothers you. But, in general every single thing that weighs on our mind, from things we should do to things we have to do, is something that takes energy to deal with. The more things we have hanging over us, the more it can potentially wear us down and stops us from actually doing what we should be doing.

Most people are motivated by progress and not doing what we say we’re going to do works against that. Often we set ourselves unrealistic goals or expectations of how much we’re going to do or accomplish. From an either or when it comes to resolutions, eating healthy and going to the gym, to our social engagements and how much we take on at work. Trying to do too much is not something we benefit from, but rather the contrary. Whilst goals that pushes us a little out of our comfort zone are good, they still need to be realistic. And if we set them up in a way where a positive outcome of actually having done/ accomplished them is more likely than us not doing them, then we help ourselves get into a positive state of mind where we each day feel we’re making progress and are succeeding in what we’ve set out to do.

Image via Flickr user hjhipster

Have you read these?