Mindset

This One Phrase May Change Your Life – Really!

Reviewed by: Erica Grandjean, APD, BNutr&Diet

How can a simple phrase change your life? It’s a pretty big claim, and you’re right to feel a bit sceptical.

But consider this: how often have you packed a gym bag, full of good intentions at the start of the day, to have it sitting sadly by your desk, unused, at the end of the day?

Or, you’ve bought an tonne of fruit that goes quietly mouldy on the bottom shelf of the fridge, uneaten.

Good intentions aren’t enough to shift the dial when it comes to your health. It may be the first step, but it’s nothing without action.

Which brings us to the phrase – you guessed it, it’s JFDI! Or, more simply, just freakin’ do it.

Why the phrase JFDI?

Take it from Mish herself: “A plan without actions is as useful as a chocolate kettle or a bicycle to a fish! Action is an extraordinarily potent force.

“I see lots of people who procrastinate about making important decisions about their lives. I see people who’ve fallen victim to paralysis by analysis.

“They’re so busy working out the options, weighting them all individually, comparing them, adding them up, dividing them up,” she says.

In other words, these people fail to JFDI, and nothing gets achieved.

…Yes, it IS hard

The beauty of this phrase is in its apparent simplicity – and yet it’s hard to make that first actionable step.

Actually putting on those gym clothes, leaving the emails for 45 minutes and sweating uncomfortably surrounded by strangers is difficult for most people.

Being disciplined and forgoing Friday night takeaway for something home-cooked is hard! Especially if you’ve had a difficult week.

Also read: Are You Comforting or Numbing Yourself with Food?

However, the harder it feels, the more you know it’s the right thing to do. Bad behaviour is like a toxic partner – when they sense you’re about to give them the flick, they’ll tighten their hold over you.

The trick is to not over-think it and be proactive. Put on those gym clothes and start working out before your toxic behaviour has had a chance to catch you out.

…but it gets easier

“In my experience, once you’ve done that first action, the next will appear and then the next. It’s like opening one door and seeing the next one you should open in front of you, and then understanding exactly where the third will be.

“Something magical happens as soon as you start putting a plan into effect,” says Mish.

So, can this one phrase change your life? At 12WBT we think it can.

Nothing great happens without that first step – so whatever your goal is, JFDI! You won’t regret it.

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