Use "Must do" to overcome "Can't do"

That comment started me thinking about the way that we approach so many things in life. We all prize freedom and choice highly, but sometimes choice can be our worst enemy. You have the choice to do something or not. If the thing under consideration is difficult or scary, it's all too easy to choose not. Oh sure, we can come up with plausible reasons: we don't want to be tired for work the next day, or it won't really make a lot of difference either way, or our body doesn't move or work like that. Sometimes no choice is exactly what you need to push you.

For instance, if you were training with the senior sensei in your state or county, and he said do something, you'd do your utmost to do it, no matter how uncomfortable or awkward right? But if you were training on your own, or in your normal class, would you still push yourself as hard?

I've been in situations where I needed to make announcements to thousands of people on a microphone. I was terribly nervous and I twittered about and dithered like an old granny before making the announcements... Badly!

On another occasion, I found myself in the same situation, but people were depending on me and looking up to me as the leader in the situation. Suddenly, it wasn't a maybe I will, maybe I won't situation, it was a must do. Without hesitation, I took the microphone, delivered a short speech and carried on with my day.

I've thought about that in light of this lightweight kid's movie and I realised a very important difference between my attitude in each situation. When I thought that I had choice, I procrastinated; I considered how dumb I'd sound; I thought of all the things that might go wrong, and I panicked about whether or not I might stutter. When I had no choice, I didn't waste time with negative thoughts, I just got on and did the job.

Perhaps we should approach all scary situations like that. Don't anticipate every possible negative outcome - most of which are unlikely to happen in any case - just get right on and make a start. I believe it was Confiscious, the great Chinese philosopher who observed, "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." In other words, don't think about how laborious the hundred thousand steps will be, just start walking...