Yeah Yeah, I'll do it later....

How many times have you said this? How many times has "I'll do it tomorrow" turned into " wow, I said I was gonna do that"? Have you ever looked back and remembered something you were going to do years ago that you kept saying tomorrow to and now a decade later, you realised that it still hasn't happened?

Procrastination.....the mean and ever persistent procrastination and its best friend self sabotage are commonly some of the most complaints that people have in life.

They know they want to learn that instrument, clean the house, lose weight, take up that sport, ask out that special someone or get that promotion yet they put it off time and time again. Even if they do get started they end up self sabotaging and the courage it took to get started dissipates and all that's left is disappointment in self- NOT VERY FUN!

So why on earth would we put off doing something that we know we want to do or is important to do? Most of the time, once it's done it seemed so easy and you wonder why you didn't take Nike's advice and JUST DO IT in the first place.

Well many people will say that you just need to do it- get off your arse and go do whatever you say you want to do; it's not always as easy as that.

Procrastination sets in for various different reasons and often leaves people feeling lazy, unmotivated and like crap about themselves and then of course the cycle continues; who's motivated when they feel like that?!

Here are some of the common reasons why we procrastinate:

1.) We are stretching our comfort zone
     - Back in the cave man day our lives were threatened almost daily. We had to run from predators, stay nourished and warm as well as fight for our place among our own species. So our brains developed to help us defend against threats. Whenever our safe zone was impended at all, our ego (or our MINI ME as I like to call it) would step and "save" us. It would tell us to run away, fight or hide in order to survive in the face of impending death.

That worked great for us in those days, now in a modern world, we here in lucky countries face 1st World problems that no longer threaten our lives on a daily basis. BUT, the mini me has not seemed to catch onto this. It still feels the need to protect us and keep us safe- and it does. It stops us from walking down a dark alley alone or walking in front of a bus, very useful things indeed.

However, these things don't happen very often so the mini me has found a way to keep its job- by making sure you never leave your safe zone. Whenever you are stretching your comfort zone, your mini me will pipe up and protect you, normally by telling you that it wont work or its not worth it, so you should just stay in your cave.

So procrastination sets in because you are having an internal battle with yourself and normally for most people, mini me wins! All you need to do is acknowledge it, treat it like a 5 yr old child. If you ignore a 5 year old, what does it do? It gets louder, and when you acknowlege it, it quitens down, for a little while at least. Thje more you do this, the more it will become your best friend. All you do is say thank you and carry on anyway, choosing to stretch that comfort zone.

2.) Not a big enough WHY
      - Its been said that if you have a big enough "why" the "how" will take care of itself. Have you ever been in a busy shopping centre or stuck in traffic and have been busting to use the bathroom? I bet that somehow you found a way to use a bathroom, no matter how far you had to go or to what lengths, you found a way to relieve yourself.

The why was HUGE! You found a way, the how didn't matter anymore because the why outweighed the details. For all you ladies out there, have you ever been busting and you know that you can probably only hold it for a couple more minutes and you finally find a way to the loo only to find that there is a line of 10 other ladies in front of you? Let me guess, you managed to hold it in until you hit that seat? Interesting....all of a sudden the why changed, the why became about not wetting your pants or having to find another loo. Your why became about holding on instead of going and somehow, you managed to do it.

So get a big enough why, if you are cleaning your house just because you have to then its less likey to happen. Where as if you are looking at why you are doing it, then you are more likely to do it. If you stay focussed on the detail and the how you will get tired before you even begin. Think about the end result and how you will feel afterwards.

3.) Not enough practice of action taking

     - Most people take little action on a daily basis. Sure they go to work and get their everyday stuff done, but how many people take massive action towards what they want to achieve each and every day? Not many.

SO get practising and start small if you need to. As soon as you think of doing something get up in that very moment and do something about it OR write it down and set a reminder if it's not possible in  that very moment. Take action on the thought immediatley- Maybe its a matter of going for a 3 minute walk or doing 10 pushups, but do it then and there when the thought comes to mind.

This takes practice so get moving on it.


Procrastination no longer needs to rule your life and if you are looking for some more insights please feel welcome to follow us on Facebook.

We are also running a competition at the moment so take some action NOW and message us on Facebook with 25 words or less about your procrastination and you could win a Clarity Hour (valued at over $300) to help get clear on your procrastination and bust through it for good!!


http://www.facebook.com/moreconfidence4u

Have a great week every body!

A "CURE" for self sabotage?

The weekend brought a whole bunch of different characters into my realm and we enjoyed some interesting conversations around resolutions and life changes and got me thinking about self sabotage and how so many people appear to "suffer' from this so called experience.

Now that the buzz of our New Year's resolutions has well and truly worn off, I am curious to discover who has fallen victim to self sabotage? Who out there decided to quit smoking, to lose weight, to get fit or even start doing more exciting things with your life? Were you all pumped for a brilliant and exciting new you for the first few weeks and now seem to be putting the brake on your progress for reasons unbeknown to you?

Are you now perhaps starting to feel like your slipping and the momentum that sparked this changed is lacking and old habits are returning and sometimes with a vengeance? Rest assured, there is a very good reason for your self sabotage.

When you decided to make this change what were your reasons? Were you motivated or inspired? Think about that for just a moment. Motivation or inspiration? For many people this may very well be the same thing, or so it seems.

Motivation is external to us. It comes in the form of a number on a scale, the price of a packet or a bottle, it could even be the way you look or the way you feel someone else judges you. For whatever reason, most people decide to change due to external circumstances, they are motivated and have lots of will power- initially.

You see, the problem with will power is our imaginations will always win over it. The possibility of going for that run and what that means for your health and vitality soon enough will be won over by the idea of an extra hours sleep in the morning or that great TV program. Our will power can be strong and will serve us pretty well, but only ever in the short term. Once the "pain" point has left then the will leaves too.

Has anyone ever looked in the mirror and thought "woah, better go on a diet or get exercising"? Then perhaps you join a gym or go on some new diet that "guarantee's results". Sure enough, you lose that weight, you are getting healthy and you reach that goal weight, then all of sudden the will has gone. The unhealthy foods start creeping back in and the gym visits become less frequent, because " you have worked so hard, you deserve a break" Right?

Sound familiar? This is what most people do, without even knowing it, they are looking for a short term solution to a long term problem. What we need to do to create long lasting change is to get inspired.

Go back to a time in your life where you were in a really good space and life was going really well for you. If you can't remember, then imagine that space. Where you looked after yourself and your relationships were good, where you were going for the things you want in life and feeling great. What a place huh?

This happens when we are inspired, when we know exactly why we are doing what we are doing and it comes from within. 

So take sometime today and ask yourself WHY? Find out what it is that is truly inspiring you to want to create a better life for yourself. This is inspiration, it comes from within and will power and motivation don't even come into the game when you are clear on why you are doing it. 

Have a great week everyone!

Katie :)

Where exactly does time go when it passes?

It's been said that time does not pass rather we pass through time. As though time is still and we are the ones who make it move.

Have you ever noticed how one day can actually feel as long as a year or one year like a week? Why is that? The clock rotates at the same speed everyday, counting down the same amount of hours and minutes everyday. Yet somehow an hour listening to a boring speech can take a whole day, yet spending a week with your best friends feels like a minute.

All this has got me thinking about my absence from what I like to call the "real" world. The world where money needs to be earned, time needs to be spent and bills need to be paid. The real world that so many of us don't want to face or ignore the fact that their lives aren't all they cracked up to be.

I've been ignoring my "reality" for sometime now, because lets face it, some things in life are tough to face and the comfort zone becomes so cushy and inviting that the desire to actually live life fades and the killer comfort zone takes over.

For those of you who have ever suffered in a deep and traumatic way or know someone who has, then this blog is for you. If you have lost someone who means more to you than you could ever imagine or you have experienced something so painful that you never knew your heart could actually feel pain then you know all about what's coming.

For me it was my brother. One of 4 brothers and my closest in age. He was my light. He was the one that protected me from bullies in school ( more because he was a bigger bully than anything else). He showed me the way and kept me safe when I was scared shitless. Even as an adult whilst in Portugal, he watched and mentored me to get up on a surfboard. For days he watched me struggle and helped me every step of the way, sacrificing his own waves in the pursuit of watching me catch my first ever wave; just like so many things he sacrificed for me.

He was my hero, my best friend and my confidence. What has struck me in the last year since he died is how much such a tragedy can effect someones confidence and self worth. I have found it fascinating how an event happening to someone else can have sucha huge impact in that area.

Confidence can be so fragile, so fickle when it relies on other people. A shock to my system allowed me to spend the better part of a year not knowing who I was or what I stood for.

So what have I learnt? I always had my confidence levels high, but I didn't always know who I was. The death of my brother turned my world upside down, like I know happens so many times a day for people all around the world. I have learnt that I never really looked into who I was or perhaps more importantly the death of him made me see a different side of me.

There comes a time when we need to focus on who we are, what we value and why we are valuable.  A great friend recently asked these questions of me and I suggest you do the same, it will be worthwhile for those who feel lost in who they are and where they are going.

What makes me beautiful? Emotionally? Spiritually? Physically and mentally?

What is it that makes me worthy? In relationships? In Business? In health and in love?

What makes me of Value?

What are my standards?

Therefore who am I?


Take the time for you this week, month or year to discover who you really are particularly if life has thrown you a " curve ball". Take all the time you need, because remember, we pass through time, time doesn't actually past.

Enjoy

Katie