How many times in the last 6 months have you said: “I wish I could do that too”?
If you said it once, it’s already one time too many times. In this digital age where we have infinite access to information, the world is becoming smaller and smaller and people are sharing more and more of their lives. We’re living in exciting times. If I’m unsure of a restaurant I’m going to, I do a quick Google search for reviews. If I want to know about what’s happening in politics, I head over to Twitter to read up on different opinions. But while it’s a great source of information, it’s also easy to feel inadequate – whether it’s about your hobbies, your job, or yourself. When you’re watching others live their best lives online, it’s easy for those 7 words to pop into your mind “I wish I could do that too”.
Each day I make a conscious effort to do something that my future self will be proud of, some days are definitely harder than others, but eventually, my mindset changed and so did my life.
I’ll do it tomorrow and other lies I’ve stopped telling myself.
Oops, I don’t have time
This was one of the first lies I stopped telling myself. I didn’t have time to finish a book, meet up with friends or create more content because I was just too busy. I would use this classic excuse instead of saying no and I would end up watching series instead.
Today, when I have an idea for content I write it down or immediately start working on it. When I wake up early I simply get out of bed and start my day. When something pops up, I add it to my calendar and I don’t bail.
Now when I say oops I don’t have time I actually mean it.
I have to be good
Don’t speak too loud, sit up straight. Don’t swear so much, why are you wearing sneakers again? Smile at the guy who buys you a drink, don’t speak too much while you’re in the team meeting. Do any of these sound familiar? For years we’re told that ‘normal is good’ and anything that steers away from this is ‘bad’.
I imagined I could do whatever felt right and then I did. I speak up in meetings, now my boss’s boss asks for my opinion. I swear a lot when I speak and I’ve never felt better. I’d rather passionately express myself than contain myself every day. I quickly realised that the only person I can be is myself, and guess what? I became mentally healthy!
Good things will happen eventually.
This is the biggest lie of them all. Good things happen to good people right? Perhaps, but good things happen to people who go after them too.
Waiting doesn’t work for me, if I want it, I go after it. When I stopped lying to myself with this one, I became actively engaged with the people around me and started doing the things that I always waited to come to me.
You have the choice to keep waiting or to go out and just do it.
I’ll do it tomorrow
This has quickly become a pet peeve of mine. It’s normal to feel tired and it’s important to listen to your body. But missing 10 minutes of your favourite tv show is better than leaving 50 emails unopened in your inbox. You can always watch another episode but you can’t get back another opportunity.
5 more minutes
Sound familiar? It sure does for me. I need 5 more minutes to get this done, to get ready or complete this task. This lie leads to pressure on yourself and you usually end up disappointing people afterwards. If need 1 hour? I’ll say it. If I’m actually running late, I let people know.
It’s better to be honest than to disappoint someone who is relying on you.
How many times have you lied to yourself and how many times have you later regretted it? Why keep doing it when you could stop today? Go ahead, challenge yourself and then let me know how it goes.