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
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!
