I can do that!

I recently choreographed and costumed a show directed by a dear friend of mine.  At the cast party, he went around the room and spoke about each person involved in the show (it was a small cast) and what they brought to the table, how they got involved, and what a big help they were.

He spoke about me last and told everyone that I came to the show with a "I can do that!" attitude.  This is something I had never thought about.  He talked about how I came to him and said "I can do choreography!" and I did.  How, when he was looking for a costumer, I said "I can do that!" and I did.  He even mentioned that last year when he directed another show and was looking for a replacement actress, I told him "I can do that!" and I did. 

I put a lot of pressure on myself.  I start huge projects that sometimes don't get finished.  I overwhelm myself with tasks so much that they often seem impossible to complete.  I make big statements like "I WANT TO BE A RUNNER" and throw myself into that mission for...a day or two.  Then, life gets in the way, I get bored, or I realize I don't live up to my own expectations. 

But why not approach things with a very casual "I can do that!" attitude?  NOTE:  When you say "I can do that" you have to say it with a half shrug of your shoulders as though you are telling someone you can tie your shoes or stand on one foot, like it's no big deal.  When I hear "I can do that!" it sounds almost flip, sort of nonchalant.  I like it!  Instead of saying "I will do this" "I have to do this" I'm going to start trying to approach tasks and ideas and goals with an "I can do that!" attitude.  Of course I can do it - I don't set impossible goals for myself.  So why not give it a go?  Try it out?  Jump on in?  No need to plan things so seriously or put all this pressure on myself.

Make a bunch of appetizers this week for my party?  Instead of frantically planning, worrying, trying to become Martha Stewart, I just say "I can do that."  Take 10 minutes out of my day to work on my pushups?  Instead of writing down all the workouts and posting this somewhere, trying to do the workouts at the same time every day, and beating myself up when I forget, I just say "I can do that."  Because I can do that, but the world doesn't end if I don't get it right or don't finish.  With an "I can do that" shrug, I downplay the importance of the task, and just simply go out and DO IT, instead of obsessing over a task I haven't started yet.

A new philosophy?  I can do that.