The Nike slogan “Just Do It” is a very powerful call to action. It’s simple: “just” tells us to forget about all the excuses, and “do it” is meant to get us off the couch and moving. Yet how many times have I heard this, looked outside to see that it’s cold and raining, and lost my desire to go for a swim? New studies are showing that confidence is what turns thoughts into action – whether for a workout, personal life, or at work. Confidence is a catalyst. It uses memories of past successes or failures in order to decide whether we are capable of doing a similar project in the future. If confidence is high, we tend to act; if not, we won’t. The curious thing is that the more we act, the more confident we become. Bad memories of failed projects tend to get buried, and successes tend to come to the fore, adding to our confidence. It is a virtuous cycle of confidence and action. Pick one small thing you’ve been avoiding, and just do it.
