The Secret to My Success. [You Can Do It Too]
The morning I sat down to write this I thought,
Maybe I can skip my run today.
I’m awfully tired.
Rest would probably be better.
I could totally skip it.
But then I thought: BULLSHIT.
I went running. I did give myself the teeniest break by not setting a target distance on my watch like I usually do. I just went. I felt sluggish toward the end, but a run was totally within my capability that day.
After all those thoughts, I ended up running the same distance and speed I normally do.
I knew that my thoughts about skipping the run were excuses because I have developed a finely tuned bullshit detector. It’s one of the secrets to my success. By paying attention to my inner monologue and the thoughts I think, I can tell if I’m legitimately too physically tired to go run . . . or if I’m talking myself out of it.
And that allows me to make the right decision — instead of defaulting to the first choice that comes to mind. It’s important to know and remember that our mind is hardwired for survival. Fear and doubt are ways to protect us from harm — including doing anything new.
Deciding that you want to be a bestselling author is easy.
But actually taking action toward that goal can feel difficult and scary. It’s new. You don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s a lot of uncertainty. Your mind is unsure and saying DANGER to your body. And once you learn that building your audience and author platform does not guarantee success, your brain is even more likely to offer up a gazillion reasons why you shouldn’t take action.
That’s why you need to activate and hone your own inner bullshit detector.
So that when your mind comes up with thoughts like . . .
It’s not the right time. I need X, Y, and Z before applying to work with her.
When my schedule frees up . . .
Or my favorite —
I’ll do it when I have more free time.
I encourage you to question that. Is that thought the real, absolute, capital-T Truth?
Or is it simply your mind doing its job and keeping you safe and the same?
