Stop saying, “I will start on Monday.”
Stop saying, “I will start on Monday.”
Growing up, I was always extremely petite. When I entered undergrad, I had poor dieting, I didn't exercise, and I faithfully indulged in "Catfish Friday", and some more of the most unhealthiest food options in the famous MSC cafeteria (my PVAMU alums will feel me on this). In college, I gained over 45 pounds and after college, I didn’t do work on losing it. About 2 years ago, I decided that I wanted to make a change, but I didn’t take myself really serious until about 1 year ago.
2 years ago, I promise I tried every single diet trick in the book (with no exercise of course because I was too lazy to go to the gym even though I was paying the monthly gym membership fee – but that’s another story). With every single diet, I always felt the need to start it on Monday, while I ate horrible until then. Just like many people, I made myself believe that Monday was the perfect day to start a new plan, because it was the beginning of the week. Looking back, I don’t understand what sense that made at all! Besides my journey to weight lost and getting my beautiful, petite frame back, I have faithfully stood by the mantra, “I will start on Monday” for E V E R Y T H I N G. Whether it was starting a new blog, a new business idea, or another project, I felt that Monday was the most fitting day.
It wasn’t until I watched Diddy’s commencement address at Howard University that changed my outlook on my life. During this 38 minute speech, Diddy convinced me to get off of my lazy bum, and to not wait until a Monday (or any other day) to better myself.
If you know anything about Diddy, you will know that he built his empire from starting at the bottom and now he is truly a legend. Diddy is a genius, an inspiring businessman, and the perfect example of someone building an influential personal brand.
During his speech, Diddy’s most inspiring quotes were:
“Do you know how powerful you are?”
“Don’t be afraid to close your eyes and dream, but then open your eyes and see.”
“The only way of out of the darkness is to become your own light.”
And my favorite, “Nobody is going to take you to the front of the line – you need to push to the front of the line.”
When Diddy said that, it really triggered something great inside of me and I cannot think of any words to describe the way I felt justice. At that moment, I decided that I would stop waiting to start working on my own dreams. I would stop procrastinating, and I would hustle hard to meet my goals. I realized that if I kept waiting for a specific day to work on myself, and waiting for people to give me a handout, I would never reach my own goals and I would instead work to help someone else reach theirs.
I am definitely a much better person after hearing Diddy’s speech, and thinking about how I could utilize its greatness for my own life. Since then, I have made tremendous strides in meeting my personal goals, and I am not finished yet. For every one of you that has a goal, I want you to please realize that “nobody is going to take you to the front of the line – you need to push to the front of the line.” You have to work hard on your own, even when you don't want to and you would rather be enjoying Sunday Funday, happy hour, or watching Scandal.
Trust me, I know that this is definitely a lot easier said then done, but you have to try your best to work towards it. One of the things that I have found to be helpful is to literally write down weekly goals for myself and to also follow up on the goals mid-week. In addition, after I have wrote down those goals, I use the reminder app on my iPhone to remind myself to complete certain tasks before it is due. No matter what kind of reminder that I set or how I set it, I just try to get the work done, by any means necessary. It is time out for making excuses and waiting until the “right moment presents itself." Ya’ll, the right moment is now.
If you haven’t seen Diddy’s speech, check it out below. If you have seen it already, check it out again anyway. It is definitely motivating.