Inspired by one of the blogs that I follow, I’ve decided that I’m going to come up with my own ten (or less or more, depending on how inspiration strikes) commandments – rules that I do (or want to) live by and follow that I think will help me be more of who I want to be in my life. So, without further adieu (and in no particular order), I give you rule number one…

1. Just do it.

Yes, I know this is a Nike slogan. But it’s a good one, so I’m stealing it. To me, this saying applies in a couple of different areas. You see, I have the absolute worst problem with motivation in general. Anything that I know I need to get done, whether it be laundry, walking the dog, or studying for the GMAT – I will sit around and procrastinate until I by some miraculous act of God somehow find the motivation needed to get off my bum and do it. And usually that time comes far after when I’d originally planned on getting it done to begin with. I’ve learned that the best way to get anything done is to just start it. Once it’s started, the motivation pretty well takes care of itself.

The other area this saying applies is in things I’m afraid of. A good example I can think of is the time that I was on a zip line. I was on a platform at least 40 feet off of the ground, all strapped in, and the only thing it was my responsibility to do at that point was to jump off of the platform. There had been people in my group before me that had gotten up there, got to the very edge of the platform, and just could not make the jump. But here’s the thing… if you get up there, stand on the very edge of the platform, and look down – you’re in the very scariest place at that moment. And the longer you stand there, the scarier it will be. This is where “just do it” comes in – once you just let go, fall in, give up, and JUMP – the rest is easy. And I can think of many other areas of life where this applies, areas where I know that I have been (or still am) afraid, and it keeps me paralyzed, standing there in the very scariest place unable to let go.

More commandments to follow…