Why Swallowing the Frog Is a Great Idea

Photo by Wayne Robinson on Unsplash

We’ve all experienced it. That dread that looms over us and ruins our days. And nights. You toss and turn, thinking about that thing you have to do tomorrow. And when you finally get out of bed, things don’t get any better. Your day is ruined before you even get started.

Maybe it’s something you really don’t want to do, or a task you just don’t like doing. Maybe it’s something that’s not your job, but the boss wants you to do it anyway.

Whatever it is, I can guarantee you one thing. From the minute you wake up or find out that you have to do it until you actually get it done, you are going to have a bad day. And there are only two actions that you can take at any point on that day.

Do it.

Don’t do it.

So, the first thing you have to decide is if the choice is actually yours to make. Like many things in life, I usually try to filter that decision through a famous quote now more than 70 years old.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Can you not do it? Do you have the courage to walk into your boss’s office and have a confrontation over it? Is so, do it. You may be surprised. You may find out it was just some whim or mistake on their part. You may walk out of their office with that weight lifted from your shoulders.

You may get fired.

But, hey, it’s like I used to tell my manager almost every day. Pay me or fire me, doesn’t matter to me, either way.

But let’s assume, this is something you can’t change. If you could have, you would have before it grew to be such a monster riding on your shoulders. It is your burden to bear, so you are left with but one choice.

Do it.

But you don’t want to do it, so you keep putting it off. You resolve yourself to having a crappy day because of that thing. If only you didn’t have to do it. If only some magic person would swoop in and do it for you. If only.

As a writer, I am fascinated by words and their power. A simple turn of a phrase can change an entire story. The addition or omission of a sentence will alter a paragraph’s meaning. A single word can add power to a formerly powerless sentence.

A single word.

Read these two sentences and absorb their meanings to you. What they mean to you personally. How they make you feel.

Do it.

Just do it.

Nike said it 40 years ago. It was on a poster accompanied by an endless road stretching into the distance. I was a distance runner at the time, and although I wore a different brand of shoes, that poster hanging over my bed inspired me daily. I would roll out of bed, tired and cranky, faced with the prospect of a 20 miler. I didn’t really feel like it. Who would? 20 freaking miles. What if I blew it off? Who would know? Me, that’s who, and it would ruin my day. Me and the Greek Goddess of Victory.

That bitch.

So, I laced up my shoes and took off. Now, whether you are a runner, ever have been, or never run a step in your life, I’m sure you can imagine that a 20-mile run wouldn’t fall into the fun things to do category. But once I got started, it felt pretty good. Well, most of it felt pretty good. And when it was done, I felt a lot of things, tired and sore not being the least of them. But, beneath all that, I felt good.

And victorious.

Because instead of those two words, do it, hanging over my head all day, I added a just in front of them. Just do it. Just get it done. Just get it behind you. A car crash unfolding in front of you is a scary thing. One in your rearview mirror, not so much. Just do it.

Of course, as most of you know, the title of this piece came from one of the great philosophers of all time, who said it over a hundred years ago.

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it First Thing in the Morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the BIGGEST one first.” ~ Mark Twain

I can’t tell you how many bad days I’ve had worrying about that frog I had to swallow. We’ve all had them. We walk around all day, a dark cloud hanging over us. Maybe I can put it off until tomorrow. Yeah, maybe I can ruin two days instead of just one. But here’s the thing. Each and every time, once I finally bite the bullet and just do it, I feel better.

Each and every time.

Maybe I feel better just because the thing is in my rearview mirror instead of hurtling toward me. Maybe it’s a feeling of accomplishment at having got it done. A victory. Maybe, and here’s the case more often than not, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

So, whatever it is, just do it. Whatever it is that’s ruining your day, or week, get it behind you. You will feel so much better, plus the thing will be done.

Swallow the frog and get on with your day.