At the beginning of 2015, I wrote an acronym at the top of my home office whiteboard. It’s one I find myself using more and more, not just for my own business but in helping creatives grow theirs. It’s JFDI.

Or for my non-swearing friends, it’s JEDI, which stands for Just Effin’ Do It.

Use whichever version you prefer, but use it for sure. Because almost every time we hesitate on something we know we need to move forward, it’s *not* due to our gut trying to keep us out of danger, it’s not our spidey sense tingling, it’s not lizard brain protecting us; it’s that good ol’ Steven Pressfield-style resistance. And the only way through it is to Just Effin’ Do It.

Now, of course, I fully respect that intuitive ping that *is* protecting us from time to time. But I also know the difference. You do too. You can absolutely tell when you’re hesitating to act on something NOT due to peril but due to… what? Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of disappointment. Fear of disappointing others. Fear of being wrong. Fear of being right — that this is a great idea — and that you’re about to experience a tier-jump you’re not yet prepared to handle.

Whatever it is, often times we don’t get going on (or get to finishing) something because we’re blocked. Defining that block is less important than getting past it. I use another acronym (BNTC — Better Name To Come — often used in screenwriting to hold the place for a character or location name that’s not working but not important enough to figure out while holding up the process of moving the story forward for now) to represent this whole labeling thing.

Sure, it’s handy to label a problem and analyze its WHY and really dig into it, but often that whole thing is a manifestation of resistance of its own! Talk about a time-suck! You can delay moving forward for a looooong time while you try and figure out what the problem really is.

How’s about you say, “Hmm. A problem. A block. Something that’s keeping me from JFDI-ing it. Interesting,” and then put that block aside — label it as nothing more than resistance, a block, a BNTC-something that you can put into a box and shove under the bed — and then get to work.

Here’s what happens when you get to work… when you JFDI. You get *stronger* for dealing with that resistance later. You’ll get work done. You’ll elevate your game. Then you’ll open that old box when you’re looking for a rainy day project and suddenly notice, “Oh, man! There’s nothing *in* this box anymore!” And that’s because doing the work is the cure for it all. It always is.

What can you get going on (or get to finishing) right now? Even if you’ll need to launch at 85%, what’s something you could decide needs the JFDI treatment? How’s about you make it official? Fire off a tweet my way and add #JFDI to let me know you’re gonna make it happen!

Let’s do this!

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/002010.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.