Nike “Just do it.”
This week my LinkedIn feed was full of human triumph. A young entrepreneur learning to walk again after a near-fatal accident. Someone recovering from cancer. Another coming back to his business after a psychotic episode.
Powerful examples of how strong the human spirit is.
But here’s the paradox.
Sometimes we’re brilliant at overcoming monumental challenges, yet we won’t do the small things that would make a huge difference.
We’ll negotiate a tough placement, then dodge a three-minute follow-up call.
Are you someone who does everything you know gets results?
Or do you quietly slide away from the bits you don’t fancy, even knowing they’d move the needle?
There are well over 200 actions that need to happen before you make a placement (I know, I’ve mapped them). Skip one and you break the chain…. slowing the placement, or stopping it altogether.
Is this landing?
What are you avoiding?
- Asking for a testimonial
- Submitting a candidate
- Calling past clients
- Challenging an unrealistic brief
- Asking for referrals
- Updating your marketing
- Cleaning your data
- Letting go of a poor performer
- Chasing invoices
Usually we don’t avoid these because they’re hard. We avoid them because they’re repetitive, boring, or we’d simply rather be doing something else.
So we do!
Left to my own devices I am world class at this☺ and here’s what has helped me do what I need to not just what I want to.
Brain-scan research shows the dread of a task lights up the same network as physical pain, but only while you’re anticipating it.
The moment you start, the pain switches off. The story you tell yourself beforehand is the worst part.
The task itself is almost always smaller than the story.
So here are three reframes to free up those bottlenecks.
Reframe #1. Focus on the outcome, not the task.
Not “I have to chase that invoice,” but “I get to collect money I’ve earned.” Same action, completely different weight.
Reframe #2. Give yourself a tiny start, not a finish.
Don’t sit down to “call ten clients.” Sit down to make one call. That’s it, you’re allowed to stop. You won’t. Your brain hates an unfinished job more than it hates starting one, so once you’ve begun, momentum does the rest. Two minutes in is all it takes.
Reframe #3. The most powerful… stop telling yourself you don’t want to.
You can not want to and do it anyway. Just ask Nike! (Read that again!)
Every founder has a growth tax. There’s always something you don’t like doing.
The trick isn’t waiting to feel like it. It’s asking:
“What would the founder I want to become do here?”
If you fancy a small reset, you might like this short video – Start with the end in mind
Have a great week,
BK
P.S. Looking to up your game? Grab a 15-min intro call with me and let’s see where I can help.
