One of the biggest obstacles that people run into when it comes to achieving their desired goals and outcomes is procrastination. This inability to get started seems to create just enough doubt and uncertainty to halt all of your best laid plans. Once procrastination sets in, we stop using active words that empower us and start replaying the same old weak conversations in our heads.
I really need to start doing this…
I really want to begin with…
I should get going on this…
I will try to get that finished…
Do you see the word choices here? Instead of powerful words like I’m going to DO this, we tend to revert to powerless words like “need” “want” “should” or “try”.
Simply paying attention to your word selection can go a long way towards taming the procrastination beast that lives inside many of us.
Another common procrastination strategy that I know I’ve employed to sabotage myself is the
“I’ll do that when I have a bit more time” “after the holiday or event” or my personal favorite “when things calm down”
These phrases are barriers that not only prevent us from achieving success, but conveniently keep us from even getting started down the path.
Think about how many times you’ve used the phrase- I’ll start this once thing settle down a bit?
Let me ask you ask you a question.
Would you say that you have a pretty busy life right now and have a lot of things going on both professionally and personally?
Since you probably answered yes then I will ask you another question.
What are the odds that is going to change over the next 6 to 12 months?
ZERO!
And would you like to know why?
Because you truly like being busy. You like having multiple things that you are responsible for. You like running around from here to there. And you know what? That’s perfectly OK. If you weren’t that busy you’d be bored out of your mind.
The minute I finally accepted that fact that I like being busy is when things began to change for me. I accepted that I like jumping on a flight to work with a client across the country and jumping back on another to work with another or come home for a family event. I like having a deadline to create a new Quarter Turn to get published every week. I like learning new things and sharing them with the people I come into contact with.
What I’ve learned is people that achieve at the highest levels have figured out a way to build in all the things the plan to accomplish in the middle of their busy lives, not on some mythical day when things finally “Calm Down”
The lesson here is that if it’s important to you and you want to accomplish your amazing goal, then build time in your schedule to work on it. If you aren’t willing to do that than it’s probably not something you are really all that committed to in the first place. If that’s the case then stop stressing about it and commit to something you really are excited about.
Life is not a dress rehearsal, and we certainly will not receive a “do over” at the end of it.
Accept that you are a busy person because you are amazing and have a lot of things that interest you. And remember if you really want to get something done, give the task to the busiest person because they are going to figure out a way to complete it.
Cheers to being busy and achieving your biggest goals
One Quarter Turn at a Time
Thoughts for the week:
The greatest amount of wasted time is time not getting started. –Dawson Trotman
Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea… Nothing. – Donald Gardner
When there is a hill to climb waiting will not make it get any smaller. – Unknown
You are not paid for perfection you are paid for results. -Coach Tim
Looking forward to our next connection
Coach Tim
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