A reminder that you can just do things... kind of

“You can just do things” has become common advice online. It’s a modern iteration on the ethos that fortune favours the brave - a proclamation that you’re only one bold move away from the life you’ve always dreamt of.

Yeah right, was my initial reaction to the meme. You can’t just do things - not really. You have obligations to your family, your friends, your employer… Unless you’re a student finding projects to fill time between classes, chances are “just doing things” for long enough would leave you in a difficult place. Sadly, the electricity company is unlikely to take vibes as payment.

But that’s a very literal reading of the mantra. I now prefer to think of it as something else: a reminder to look beyond your own identity and routine.

Rules and habits are helpful. They maintain order in society, help us stick to our plans, and enable us to navigate our lives without considering every decision and action at length. Atomic Habits wouldn’t be the bestseller it is if there was no value to structure and patterns in our behaviour.

But when we go too far, we live our lives on autopilot. We do things because we’ve always done them, and we don’t do things because we never have. It’s monotonous, and it’s easy to waste years in a stagnant routine.

It's a reminder that your actions are a choice, you do have agency, and you could theoretically do anything you feel like doing

Often, this is tied to a sense of identity. Opportunities to deviate from the norm are rejected on the basis that: “I’m not the kind of person who does X.” Sometimes it’s linked to a fear of rejection or failure - doing something new can involve stepping out of your comfort zone, and the easier path is usually to stick to what you’ve always done, where there’s less risk.

But without sounding too much like a self-help guru, those limitations are self-imposed. They’re mental barriers that leave us feeling like we’re staring through a window at others doing the things that deep down we want to do, but are inaccessible because of the constraints we’ve built for ourselves.

Take this to an extreme and you’ll end up questioning everything. Do I have to go to work this morning? In reality, you have just as much freedom to drive into the middle of the countryside and spend the day sitting in a field. You won’t, of course, because it’s not worth the long-term consequences.

But this line of thinking reframes life. It’s a reminder that your actions are a choice, you do have agency, and you could theoretically do anything you feel like doing. It’s a freeing mindset. Even if you don’t push it to its limits, it helps you to feel in control, and to push the boat out now and then.

More good news is that those mental walls crumble easily - if you apply a little effort, of course. Being a creature of habit is a double-edged sword. By giving yourself a nudge and doing something new, you train your mind that it is possible after all, and subsequent repetitions become much easier.