Mahatma Gandhi said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” We think a lot—approximately 60,000-80,000 thoughts a day. We say a lot less than we think. And we do a lot less than we say. But when they are all in harmony, Gandhi says we will be happy.

Let’s think about some of the words we say. We say, “I could, I should, I will, I might, I ought to, I can—just to name a few. I, for one, say these words EVERY DAY. How about you? I say them about work, about my health, about my finances, about my family, about my friends. But today, I now see where the disharmony lies that Gandhi speaks of; these words fail to close the loop. These words leave us with unfinished business.

The words we are missing that close the loop and bring happiness and joy into our being are, “I did.” “I did,” takes our thoughts and our statements and puts them into action. “I could,” is certainly not even comparable to, “I did.” A lot happened between, “I could,” and, “I did.” Anyone can tell us they, “should, could, will, or might,” but it’s the go-getter, successful achiever who returns and says, “I did.” As my dear Dad would have said to all the, “I should ofs,” out there, “You’re blowing a lot of hot air.” “I did” is the game changer. So let’s go get ‘er done!

With Gratitiude,

Beth

P.S. To further highlight the difference between I could and I did, here are a few examples: I could lose 10 lbs—I did lose 10 lbs. I could manage my finances better—I did manage my finances better. I could advice my career—I did advance my career. Everyone can say I could, but not everyone can say I did.