The “Need To.” How about you just do it?

I’ve been living in the need to lately. 

I’ll catch myself all the time saying I need to do something.

I need to write that.

I need to buy that.

I need to go there.

I need to do this.

Harmless statements. Until it becomes more than a statement. Until it becomes procrastination.

I’m lucky to be married to someone who will call me on my stuff. 

My wife said to me recently, “You know I love hearing your ideas. But you’ve been saying ‘I need to…’ a lot lately. How about you just do it?”

Touche.

How about you just do it?

Living in the ‘need to’ can trick you into thinking you already did. Saying we need to do something over and over again, can make our brains believe we actually did it. The only problem here of course is that no one else is inside your head but you. The world doesn’t live in your head. The people who need what only you can give don’t live in your head. Believing that you need to do it is not enough.

When does ‘need to’ become ‘Done?’

‘Done’ is when good stories happen.
‘Done’ is when people start to listen.

You can only talk about needing to do something for so long before people start to believe that you’re never going to do anything. Or worse, they think that you must not need to do it. Because when you need to do something, you do it.

How about you just do it?

I don’t want to hear myself talk about all the things I need to do. And neither does anybody else. Things that are done… those are good stories. And everyone will want to hear them.

Question:

Do you ever get caught up in the ‘need to?’
What’s one thing you can do this week that you can strike off your ‘need to’ list?