By Daniel

Oh, shit… quite literally. I’m out of toilet paper again.

Unfortunately, the timing of this realization finds me sitting on the ivory throne with my pants at my ankles. I immediately flash back to earlier in the day when I made the observation that my roll was getting to its last rotation. Cursing myself, I start the ass out waddle to the cupboards at the other end of the bathroom. I pause and hope to god there’s one more roll left in my stash of Charmin Ultra… Fail!

I don’t know how many times laziness has kicked in and I’ve neglected to do what I should and succumbed to what I want. I should have switched out my toilet paper, but I wanted to quickly get back to 30 Rock that was paused on hulu. It’s in that moment of decision many of us fall victim to a lazy mindset and neglect good sense.

Our better selves live the healthy lifestyle, work efficiently, and get things done! Yet, we’re lazy. We’re all aware of this fact. So much so, that we buy things that act as commitment devices to help lock ourselves into an option we might otherwise dodge. Pricey gym memberships with personal trainers and GMAT prep courses are two big ones that come to mind.

The truth is, sheer will and strong work ethic are the key things that will get us the rock hard abs and a 700+ GMAT score. All the expertise and know-how needed to accomplish that can be found at our local library. It’s really up to us to build the mental strength to get it done. This is a lesson that can’t be taught, but a lesson everyone has to learn and build repeatedly on their own.

The first two things I picked up in college were from my upper year mentors that lived with us in our dorm. They gathered all us freshman together and began to describe two phrases we’d be using over and over again during our tenure at the best university in Canada. These words became the quick pep talk to get me to do those dreaded case studies, early work outs, and study nights at the library.

I still find myself using these phrases to get myself through the work day and onto my countless tasks once I get home.

Deal with it.

Simple, and straight to the point. This is the key phrase that pulls me out of the woe is me complex and stops me from crying myself a river. These are the words that halt my mind from the downward spiral of excuses and negativity. I’m basically telling myself to shut up and get over it.

Just Give’er.

This is the follow up phrase that pushes me to put pen to paper and my fingers to the keyboard. This probably originated from the Just Do It campaign from Nike. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how daunting the task is or how much work is required. It needs to get done so I might as well just give’er.

Lazy Self: “I have no expertise in this! I can’t believe I’m the one putting this thing together!”

Better self: “Deal with it and just give’er”

Lazy self: “I’m so tired, there’s no way I can get in a good work out”

Better self: “Deal with it and just give’er”

I’m not saying that these magical words will automatically get you there from here. Everyone has their own way of getting themselves in the right frame of mind to get to work. Whatever it may be, it helps to know your routine to set your mindset in the right place to get things done.

Smarts are something you’re born with, but work ethic is something anyone can obtain. Winners and successful people are the ones with the strength of mind to work at it when everyone else is not. So when you’re faced with a decision to do something you should rather than something you want, train your mind to push out the excuses - Deal with it and just give’er.