In his book A Life of Meaning, Dr. James Hollis shares the mantra he says each morning as he’s heading to his work as a Jungian analyst: “Shut up, suit up, show up.” Just six words that say a lot.
In addition to being a Jungian analyst, Hollis is a teacher, writer, and presenter. He has written many books, some of which are available as audiobooks, and I recommend them to you.
I think most (or more likely all) of us have times when we could benefit from telling ourselves to shut up, suit up, and show up. I remind myself of these words when thoughts intrude about minor irritations and inconveniences. When this happens, I tell myself it’s fine to acknowledge how I feel but then to put those irritations into perspective. For it doesn’t take much comparing to see how fortunate I am. I have a nice place to live, compared to the many people in our country and the world who are homeless or who live in areas where there is a lot of crime. I have nutritious food readily available to me, and many people do not. I have work that I like for the most part and that provides me sufficient income for my needs and wants, and many people not only have trouble finding work and/or keeping jobs for various reasons, including mental health issues, and many people dislike the jobs they do have. I have good health, and many people deal with various physical and mental health issues. It’s important to keep these and other aspects of life in perspective, which is a daily self-reminder from which all of us can benefit.
And then we need to do our best to keep our focus on what matters each day. For the majority of us, this too is a daily effort.
Hollis’ mantra is yet another way of saying it matters that we endeavor each day to do what needs to be done, such as taking care of our children, going to our jobs, etc., and also that we do our best to follow the guidance of our inner voice in the many decisions and choices we make. The mantra reminds us that, by shutting up, we stop wasting time and energy complaining and feeling sorry for ourselves and instead are thankful for the many blessings we have; by suiting up, we prepare for where we need to be and what we need to do; and by showing up we put forth the effort required to do what needs to be done that day.
Every choice we make and every action we do matters. At the end of each day, by having tried our best to do what we needed to do, we not only fulfilled our responsibilities and used the abilities we’ve been given, we receive the additional benefit of feeling good about having spent time well. And we added to that which is positive in our world.