Swoosh

Just do it tm

So proclaimed the advert.

‘Just’ – as in merely, only, or ‘it’s no big deal’. Not as in righteous or true.
‘do’ – as in execute, perform. Not as in beat up or shag.
‘it’ – impersonal verb.

All in I can’t stand that damn slogan. It’s so patronising. Akin to someone telling you to ‘get a grip’ and ‘pull yourself together’ which are invariably the phrases that people reach for when you mention that you are feeling a bit low, or down, or just not yourself. Most times it’s said with that mock tone used to imply that it’s being said in partial jest. Partial being the operative word, most times we try and mask the true meaning of something using humour. I do it as well, but then humour is my self-defense mechanism, something that I reach for in times of stress, a form of protection.

Anyway, I’m fine but a friend has had some bad news. Nothing to be discussed here but concerning nonetheless. Coping with that news is the hard part and that’s what reminded me of that bloody slogan and all those platitudes. Annoyingly, despite my hatred of those phrases, they popped into my head. It’s probably social conditioning I guess, but it’s still annoying.

But are they merely platitudes? Do they not hold some value? The slump, the downward spiral is easy to get into, fighting out of it is much harder, an uphill battle, a constant drain. You constantly have to analyse your own actions, your own wants and have to force yourself to do the opposite. Want to stay in bed all day? Get up and go for a walk. Want to shut the door and never talk to anyone ever again? Join a club, go to the pub, talk to strangers (Admittedly the last option is a bit extreme and may end up with you being locked up and not allowed to speak to anyone… what goes around and all that…). No, it’s not easy to do, but the alternative is surely much worse. What am I saying, of course it is, there is no ‘surely’ about it. The lowest points are easy to reach, and it’s from that knowledge that suicide surely becomes the cowards choice, the easy way out.

I digress (and quite bloody far too).

So, let’s alter that slogan to: Just Do it.

There that’s much better. A command rather than an off-the-cuff remark. An instruction rather than a patronising message of liberation.

I should exercise and phone my Mum more often. I should spend less time on the PC and read more books. I should lose weight. I should practise piano more than once every six months. I should stop waffling on about these things and DO them!

What should you do?