You Can Do This, Jimmy

Blogging, dan ariely, humor, lessons learned, reading, writing 1 Minute

You’ve got this, Jimmy. You can write a blog post that people will find both informative and entertaining.

You’ve come up with some good headlines in the past, Jimmy. You can do it again.

Sorry, I was just trying to psyche myself up (for some unknown reason, when I refer to myself in the third person, I call myself Jimmy. Just ask Jimmy’s family).

Apparently, when trying to give yourself a pep talk, it’s better to refer to yourself in the third person, rather than saying things like “I can do this.”

At least according to Dan Ariely.

Here is one of the letters he received this week:

Dear Dan,

I have a job interview coming up. For the past week I’ve been very stressed about it, and to help myself cope I’ve been giving myself little pep talks in front of the mirror. What else can I do to deal with the stress? —Julia

And here was his response:

Telling ourselves “I’ve got this” or “I’m so ready for this” is a very common strategy for preparing for a challenge, and it makes intuitive sense. But self-talk can actually be more effective if you use the third-person: “Julia’s got this” instead of “I’ve got this.” Using the third person creates an emotional separation between ourselves and the stressful event, making it feel more like enthusiastic support from a friend. Research shows that this approach can help people manage stress more effectively. So from me to you: “Julia, you got this.”

So Jimmy will find out how effective this is.

Will this be Jimmy’s big breakthrough?

Will this be the post that gets Jimmy on all the late-night talk shows?

Will this the post that gets Jimmy a seven-figure book deal?

Or will this just be another post in a long line of Jimmy’s posts that make people wonder why they spent two minutes reading it…

I’m counting on you, Danny..

P.S. Speaking of Jimmy, I can’t pass up these clips from a classic Seinfeld episode:

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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41 thoughts on “You Can Do This, Jimmy”

  2. Tippy thinks that was a funny Seinfeld clip. Tippy laughed and laughed and laughed until Tippy fell off Tippy’s chair and rolled on the floor and broke Tippy’s tailbone. It’s all Jimmy’s fault. Now Jimmy’s in trouble.

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      1. Jimmy just needs to go to Vegas when he is there. His new jokes are about how his kids treat him like a dinosaur. He is such a natural comedian. Jimmy will see him someday. Meanwhile Jimmy can do what we do every night and watch them on reruns.

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  5. Look what you started, Jimmy. Jimmy’s got a blog. Jimmy blogs a lot. Lots of people are fascinated by Jimmy’s blog. Everybody is talking about Jimmy’s WordPress stats.

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  6. I will not fall for this trap. I will stay in the perspective of a first person narrative. I do think there is probably some psychological benefit from speaking in the third person. It would create the perception of being encouraged from an outside source. I will hope this brings the book deal and a tour of the late night shows. By the way, Brad laughed all the way through the Seinfeld clips. Dang, you got me….

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