Just Do It

by Cindy Layton

Just –Don’t over-analyze your desire.
Do –Take action. 
It – Define what you will do. 

These three iconic words are meant to condense the entire field of sports psychology to its most basic element, and inspire the recipient of the message to don their Nike gear and hit the streets. Don’t let impediments stand in your way. Get out of your head. Run or play or jump or throw or block or tackle. Just Do It. So simple.

Athletes that appear in Nike commercials dedicate years of discipline to their sport. They log miles, do two-a-days on end, sacrifice a personal life. They cultivate their body and their mind, because an athlete’s success comes as much from inside their head. Where do they fit in the universe of like athletes? Where is their ceiling and is it defined by their ability or by their ambitions? A great deal of achievement is the result of what many call mental toughness or discipline. 

It’s no different with writers. There’s a lot of noise to confront before a writer can Just Do It. They butt up against their own ceilings and wonder where they fit in their universe of like writers. That simple slogan gets annoying. When they sit down for a productive day and self-doubt hi-jacks their confidence, they answer when Facebook calls. 

Somewhere between Just Do It and I Could Never Do That, lies the truth for every athlete and every writer. There’s a constant clash between our aspirations and our abilities. Nike’s message suggests that our aspirations will somehow elevate our abilities. Yet, I wonder if the reverse is more common. Do our abilities more often elevate our aspirations? The more we do the more we feel we can do.

When I think about what it takes to succeed at sports or writing, three words, no matter how iconic they may be, can’t begin to cover the spectrum of characteristics needed.

So, add to your list: motivation, ability, aspiration, commitment, self-confidence, focus, creativity, goal setting, hard work, discipline. And, of these words, which is the most important? Some might say aspiration. Some might say ability. Many sports psychologists will say, the most important is discipline. 

Discipline gives you the roots to support motivation, ability, self-confidence, focus, etc.

Discipline is the anti-Just Do It. 

So, for you, Nike - While there’s beauty in simplicity, simplicity itself is often a hard-fought ideal born of complication.

Discipline is the key to being productive. This article from Writers Digest (that also uses a well-worn sports metaphor) has some ideas about instilling discipline to a writing routine. 

This article, by Scott Ginsberg, has some useful suggestions on how to shift your way of thinking about writing to incorporate discipline.