I think one of the hardest thing for humans to do is to see the big picture when it comes to their own lives. We’re very good at seeing it for everything outside ourselves. This is why it’s so easy for us to give advice to people, but we can’t take it ourselves. Someone else could see me and know that I feel better after I exercise. They can also know that I am establishing good habits that will lead to long term health benefits for my entire life.

But I just don’t want to do it!

I can only see the moment. I can only know that in the moment I would rather sit here and watch YouTube videos or play video games than go out there and get all sweaty. I’m going to have to shower and cool off afterwards. Do I have time for that? Clearly my time would be much better spent sitting right here taking advantage of my “free time.”

This is the lie I tell myself, and on a good day, I ignore it.

Even when it’s something that I’m good at, like writing, I still have this feeling. I’ve written 53 pieces for BirchTree so far in July (holy crap!), but even that doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes I don’t have a good idea, or maybe I’d rather be doing something else. But I make myself write. A big part of it is that it’s such a routine at this point that I feel uncomfortable if I don’t write for more than a day or two. Another part is that I demand that I do good work and that I deliver something new just about everyday. I’ll let you determine if you think the work is good, but you can’t deny that I’m consistent.

I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. I don’t intend for you to reach the end of this article and carpe diem the shit out of the rest of your day. I’m doing this, selfishly, to get out of my own head.

There are a million different ways to get things done in your life. Some people make schedules, others make mind maps, others talk it out with their close friends/family, and others set up reward systems. No matter which method you use to get yourself to do what you need to do, just remember that it doesn’t count if you just think about doing it. It only matters that you got it done.