Confident ✅. Optimistic ✅. Empowering ✅. Fun to say ✅.
I had a good catch-up with one of my oldest and dearest friends last week. It’s always great to hear from him (usually in hilarious, personal joke text message form), but better when we get to hang face-to-face. Exponentially so when it’s just us and we actually get to do some real catching up. Seriously, one of my favorite people ever.
He’s working through some stuff, as I guess we all always are. Some things only seem and feel big, while some of the other things are actually pretty big. But, he’s one of those guys who handles difficult situations with incomparable grace, positivity, and self-awareness. I’ve really never seen anything like it and I try to be like him in that way as much as I can in my life. This next year or two could get a bit bumpy, but the unknown is as much stressful as it is exciting — and he knows it.
When it’s all said and done, he’s not only going to be fine, he’s going to be awesome.
New things
We spoke about how life doesn’t give a whole lot of shits about what you had planned out. Not really any, actually. The actual number is zero. Life gives zero shits about your plan. It’s math.
He mentioned a few things he was working on and I had brought up a few new things in my life, too. It was validating for both us to know that this kind of thing can be “normal” (however you want to define that), but a common theme that kept coming up was stepping into areas of life that are brand spanking new. The never-been-done-before kind of new which, again, is as stressful as it is exciting.
We both kept saying one word….
Yet.
What “yet” means
Adding the word, “yet” at the end of a sentence changes everything. I mean, everything.
It can immediately make a hopelessly terminal statement into a confidently optimistic one.
Saying, “I don’t know how to do that.” tends to say that the lack of knowledge is the single, all-powerful barrier towards even bothering to try. “I don’t know how…therefore this path is not an option.”
But say, “I don’t know how to do that yet.” and bingo bango. See what happened? That one word changes not only the meaning of the statement, but also your way of thinking. It says that you are self-aware enough to know what you don’t know, but also understand that you are smart, brave, and capable enough to figure it the f**k out. “I don’t know it now…but gimme some time and I will soon.”
It instantly removes the barrier, accepting whatever it is as difficult, but completely possible and totally worth attempting if you really, really want it. Spoiler alert: you probably do.
It’s weird how it works…
…but it does work. Saying, “yet” can change how you think/feel/react to challenges. We’ve all read a million blog posts and articles about how speech can impact your mindset. Saying things over and over can get your mind, body, and spirit in a place to where it thinks it can…and then, eventually it actually can.
Just because you don’t know something, doesn’t mean you won’t know something.
For some reason, we think learning something new has an age limit and that after a while, if we don’t know how to do something, then it’s too late to learn it.
You guys, that’s super weird.
When you’re on the verge of something that you know could be great, it’s not the time for second-guessing. Well, maybe it is…but when you’re done doing that, get the f**k over it and start realizing that you got this.
Whether it’s a new career, or moving to a new city, an entrepreneurial endeavor, or a even a new hobby…I can promise you that you’ll figure it out. Once you decide that your desire to want to figure it outweighs your fear of its “newness,” it’ll happen.
When it’s all said and done, not only will you be fine, but most likely, you’ll be awesome.
#bewhatyoumake
