Here’s a question for you! Have you ever thought about how you think about things? This is called metacognition. It means “thinking about your thinking”.
Have you ever considered that how you think about things will predict how motivated you are, or interested you are, or excited you are about things? Because it does!
The difference between thinking that “I HAVE to do something” as opposed to “I GET to do something” makes an enormous difference in how you approach the task.
Think about when you were a child and you had an opportunity or invitation to do something like go to a ballgame or attend a party or visit a friend.
Did you think…
“I have to go to the game or I GET to go to the game.”
“I have to go to a party or I GET to go to a party.”
“I have to visit my friend or I GET to visit my friend.”
Do you see the shift in energy, enthusiasm, and motivation?
Now, think about all the things you intend to do today. They can be small, simple things or large, complicated things but how you think about them matters.
Do you say to yourself any of these?
“I have to get out of bed” or “I GET to get out of bed”
“I have to take out the trash” or “I GET to take out the trash”
“I have to cut the grass” or “I GET to cut the grass”
“I have to call my mother” or “I GET to call my mother”
“I have to cook dinner” or “I GET to cook dinner”
“I have to do some work” or “I GET to do some work”
and on and on and on…….
Do you see the difference in these seemingly mundane tasks! Now imagine you were tackling BIG IMPORTANT TASKS leading to accomplishing BIG IMPORTANT GOALS. It’s about mindset! It’s about consciously thinking about how you think about things.
The “I have to….” suggests obligation and almost a sense of dread while “I get to….” suggests excitement and opportunity.
So, my friends, which will it be for you today? My encouragement to you is to engage in the metacognitive process of thinking about your thinking and then reflect on what you say to yourself about the things you do.
Which will it be? “I have to” or “I GET to”! It makes ALL the difference.