Are you a Brutus?
Everyone knows the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar which was led by his friend Brutus. In modern times, this prompted songs like “No New Friends” or “What About Your Friends'' and even trendy threats of I’m deleting folks from my facebook friends list. Why are we spending time to delete folks that aren't friends in real life anyway? Why devote energy to sorting… but I digress. However friend cuts are made (virtually or in real life), the point is to only be surrounded by loyal friends. But what if you are your own Brutus? Just killing everything fruitful in your future? What self sabotaging habits do you have that are killing your dreams?
Here’s 3 tips to get rid of the “Brutus” habits in your life:
Self doubt/Fear
You have a great idea and you start dreaming about it. As the vision begins to get clearer, here comes your friend fear to scare you at every turn. Is this really a good idea? I’m not qualified for this. People aren't going to read or like this. Then insert imposter syndrome. Its time to kick all the negative thoughts out.
“Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.”
Habakkuk 2:2 NIVhttps://www.bible.com/bible/111/hab.2.2.niv
Write your vision down and post it somewhere you will see often and can quickly access to read to when you feel negative thoughts coming on. After reading the vision, close your eyes and imagine what it would look and feel like when the vision comes true. Open your eyes and let that scene shine a light for your day.
Procrastination/ Distractions
At this point it's not fear of failure holding you down- now you are dragging your feet. The research is well under way on this new thing and tasks are forming to build the dream. Cue the distractions. I can throw a load in the laundry in 5 minutes and then come back to this task. Let me quickly pick up in the laundry room while I call my friend for a quick check in. Next thing you know It's dinner time and you can't check anything off the task list for the project. You psych yourself out by saying something is so hard and will take so long. In reality, once you rip the bandaid off and get to it, a 5 hour monster is only a 1 hour puppy. In high school, a fellow student council member gave all leaders a circle that had “getting around to it” written on it. She said, “Here is your “getting around to it” now do it.” It was a clever motivator. Make one for yourself. Bare minimum it will make you loosen up with a chuckle.
Comparison/Perfection
The ultimate dream killer is when you stop to look at the neighbor’s yard. Their grass might be greener but have you paid their water bill? In other words, have you put in the same time and effort to get those results? Have you paid the bill of hard work, sacrifice, AND TIME. Emphasis on time because no person killing it in their field popped out of the womb and started shooting three pointers from the half court line or making six figures. Everyone has a learning curve. What you see as today’s perfection was a result of yesterday's struggles and failures. Don’t expect the first days of a project/vision/career to look like Beyonce’s Homecoming Special. You will set yourself up for the ultimate disappointment. And likewise don’t wait until you feel like it looks as spectacular as her Homecoming Special before getting started- or nothing will ever get done. Act with confidence and perfect as you go.
Just a friendly reminder, Beware the Ides of March. Before trimming your friend group make sure your personal habits are not the ones that will cause you to cry out,” Et tu Brute!”.