Practice What I Preach
Isn’t it so often that we find ourselves giving advice to people knowing full well that we dish it out but don’t heed our own advice? I keep running into this scenario this week. I’m a big believer in changing your life at an instant when you are unhappy with something and not waiting until next week or next month to start.
This mentality can most easily translate to health. Waiting until Monday to go to the gym or to start a healthy diet is a tried and tried-again method that simply never works. “If you were serious about it, you would have already started”. Ok, but what about the mile-long list of to-do’s I have to accomplish today? Or the mountain of laundry I have to fold? Or the fact that I’m not feeling my best?
Excuses. Just get it done.
“Just Get It Done” has always been my inner mantra when I recognize I have to just grit my teeth and do something mundane or painful or boring or whatever. It certainly got me through school, and now I find that there’s something every day I have to convince myself to get through. The gym is definitely one of those things. I could feel myself getting bored with my own excuses as I talked to my friend on the phone about it yesterday. So did I go? Nope! I went to bed early. But you can guarantee I’m going today!
I think another common pitfall I run across is the “if I had that solo/opportunity/chance I would have done much better than the person who got it” mentality. If that’s the case, then why the hell didn’t you shoot for it?! Plain and simple: you aren’t as good because you didn’t try for it. So shut up.
This was a recurring feeling for me in high school and even through a bit of college until I learned that I could save myself the disappointment and the constant “what if?” scenarios if I just did my best, stuck my neck out and tried for something I knew I wanted. This comes with practice and a commitment to not let other’s opinions scare you. Besides; ultimately it’s between you and whoever you’re trying to impress (often just one person) and their vision is subjective so if you don’t get it, don’t take it personally (That’s a really hard one!)
Lately, I have come into contact with this kind of scenario again in all three of my performance groups. I didn’t try for a solo that I know I could totally nail and either the solo was cut entirely because nobody else tried for it, or I felt I could have done better than the soloist. Stupid. Why didn’t I just go for it? This confidence has also come with commitment. I decided that either I was going to commit 110% to my performance groups and show up on time ready to work and audition for anything available, or I should just quit. There’s no half ass-ing in entrepreneurship; there’s just no time for it.
This change has been enormously successful, and I’m definitely looking at some very exciting live performances coming up in the next two months. Hopefully I’ll be making my debut on stage with a healthy, sexy body along with it because of my new commitment to the gym and eating healthier.
I could daydream for hours about how I would feel and how I would look on stage or in a video or at an event, but the ONLY way to get there is through slugging it out beforehand and committing to the work it takes to get there. Sure, I could get in some spanx and perform what’s comfortable for me and just continue my weekly commitment to rehearsals, but I’ve realized that it’s no longer enough for me to just “get by”. I’ve been #blessed with talents and personality traits that aren’t being used to their fullest potential, and that’s no way to live! When people say “Live Life to the Fullest”, too often do they emphasize the positives of life. Without the negatives and the hard stuff, the easy/happy stuff just doesn’t feel as good. You only climbed half the ladder and you’re still staring at the top wondering, “what if I had made it all the way?”
Don’t live life halfway up the ladder. (I mean, that’s kinda dangerous!) Don’t pretend that you could have succeeded at something if you didn’t even try for it.
Don’t forget to hustle, and then hustle harder.
Photo Cred: "How to Be A BAWSE" by Lilly Singh aka iiSuperwomanii
