The Art of Not Trying

Overthinking and Procrastination // A Better way to Look at Life and Obstacles

Our topic for today will be the simple, yet complex skill of quite literally not trying. Yup, you read that right. This skill, though it sounds incredibly illogical, is one of the many skills that are so useful to have in life, and this article will go into that and more that comes with it. For many, like me, this particular skill has never came easy, but it’s not all that hard either. But, okay, what do I mean by this? Let’s talk about it a little more.

The Answer

This sounds a little weird right? I feel many of you may be asking to yourself right now like “What is he talking about? Don’t try? I thought trying is always the way to go?” That was definitely my first few questions too when I first read about this, but seriously, the short answer is to stop trying. To put it more bluntly, I no longer want want you to get this idea of “Okay, I’ll try my best to do XY and Z…” No. Don’t try your best, just do it! Stop trying, and put in everything you got, and get that task (or idea) done, whatever it may be. Instead of thinking about losing 5 lbs, just do it. Of course, it’s always easier saying it than actually doing it, but just write down that goal(s) and simply start. In all honesty, the hardest part of anything is starting it up. How do you think Edison made the light bulb? He took baby steps and instead of thinking about this idea until the day he died, he started with a blueprint, performed experiments, and eventually invented the light bulb that we all still use today.

Take Action

To go on with this idea, I personally discovered it idea after reading both The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck and The Power of Discipline, which are both great reads. As I said before, the main idea with “Not Trying” is really what it says in the name. Stop trying to do something, and just do it, get it done. In The Power of Discipline, the author, Daniel Walter, reminds readers that as children we were always given this idea to "always put some effort" towards something, but the idea of just “trying” or “making an effort” is simply not going to be what’s going to help you in your life. You can try to start exercising, sure, wake up every morning and procrastinate it, or you can just get it done. As Walter puts it, “Don’t try, DO.” Stop wanting to do something and just do it, give it your all. There’s nothing wrong with starting small also, make you long term goals into shorter, smaller goals, and get started.

For me, something that I’ve started implementing in my life is to completely turn off my brain in the morning when I wake up, but just know exactly what to I’m supposed to do. I wake up, and immediately I stretch, do some body-weight exercises, take a cold shower right away: no questions asked. I’m not perfect and, I just still feel like on some days that “Aw, I cannot do this today”. But after I do it, I feel so much better. This is all to do with having a routine, which is definitely a more broad topic for another article.

Procrastinating Everything

This idea sounds of “not trying” sounds difficult because it really can be, especially in the beginning. Some mornings we wake up and just feel extremely under the weather and procrastinate getting anything done. One thing that I’ve noticed within my life, that I mentioned more before, is the difficulty of starting, not in the middle of the process, but just the start of it. This could be getting out of bed in the morning, hitting a mile run, dropping down and doing pushups; the hardest part of all this is starting, and the more we sit and think about it, the less we actually get done. Procrastination and Overthinking is your worst enemies when trying to change your life or when getting your goals done. It is hard. But, by procrastinating, you’re really just making it harder for yourself later. Get the work done now, not later.

Overthinking 101

Starting off with my least favorite thing on earth, overthinking. For those who may not know, the meaning of overthinking says it all in the name simply, “thinking about something too much or tooo long.” Overthinking is an enemy to many, including myself. It’s given me and I’m sure so many others bad days as I simply cannot control all my thoughts when this happens. For many of us, it’s in many situations that involve stepping out of our own comfort zone. We think way too much into the situation, and in the end decide against this idea, even if it’s a good idea.

An good example for many of us can be going up to someone we find attractive and just talking to them. Forget asking for their number or their Snapchat/Instagram, the hardest part is simply finding the courage to go up to them, and overthinking is usually what stops many of us. We think so far into the situation that it just prevents us from even trying. “What if they have a boyfriend?” or “What if they think I’m ugly?” or “Did I put on deodorant today?” The more questions or ideas that pop into our minds, the less motivated we become to just go for it. For all we know, we could’ve missed out on so many opportunities in life and more just because we just thought way too much into something; when in reality it was so simple.

The Solution

Overthinking doesn’t always have to do with just being nervous to go up to a stranger, it could be literally anything. Weather that be thinking about going for a run, eating the healthy option instead of McDonalds, etc. We tend to think one thing and spiral right into the opposite direction almost immediately because we want to be comfortable and go with the easier option. And, quite frankly, even if it is easier, it doesn’t mean it’s always better. The mere solution to overthinking is simply this: Going with your gut and saying F*ck it. Whatever you feel in your head is the better option, and whatever (more importantly) gets you out of your comfort zone, even if it’s a little tiny bit, is always worth it. Once you actually do that thing you never thought you could do, you feel so much better with yourself than just ignoring the urge to try. And, even for me, as I’m sure many who know me know I wouldn’t just walk up to someone and say “F*ck it”, but even than it can be little things to build up to that point of your self confidence. Self-confidence like Self-responsibility (discussed in my last post) are such important skills to have in our lives.

Lastly, I’ll finish off with this question: Do you know how there’s something so satisfying about proving someone wrong? Weather that be someone you dislike or your best friend? We get that little tiny sense of pride from that. Well, better yet, prove yourself wrong, prove to yourself that you are capable and you can do whatever you put your mind to. That’s the best feeling. It’s hard at first when we overthink and procrastinate at times, but honestly, just do it (I can’t exemplify this much more, I’ve repeated it enough I hope). I promise you’ll feel so much better after. To put it into a different perspective, we only have one life, and only have so much time. Go out there and do the things you want to: ask that girl out, perform in your school’s show, go sky diving for the hell of it, all in all, do something you didn’t think you could do, and do it.

And, if you’ve made it this far, I challenge you in the next few days to do one thing that gets you out of your comfort zone, it doesn’t have to be anything huge either. Try it out!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, feel free to subscribe for more topics like this in the future.

-brandon

Check out The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and The Power of Discipline !