Monday, November 11, 2019

5 Simple Ways To Stop Procrastinating


The year of 2019 is almost coming to an end. Are you satisfied with the progress you're making with achieving your goals and objectives? Are you getting ready for 2020?

Admittedly, I used to procrastinate. Once I realized the impact of not taking action, I became intrigued why people procrastinate. It made me wonder why some people are wired to be more action-oriented than others. While it's proven that execution is the key to success, why do people procrastinate? Even though we know it's costly to procrastinate, many are still willing to pay the high price for doing so. Why?

We know that procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something. Yet, many can't honestly explain why they procrastinate, especially when the stakes are generally damaging to their lives.

Over the decades, I've identified five basic reasons why people procrastinate. Let's review them and determine how to help you overcome this destructive habit.

Reason #1: FEAR
At the root of so many things in life is fear - and procrastination is certainly no exception. People delay accomplishing their tasks, adhering to deadlines and ultimately hurt themselves in the process because they're afraid. Fear manifests itself in many interesting and complex ways. Whether it's addressing issues, having tough conversations or worrying about how they'll be perceived by others, fear holds action hostage and individuals suffer as a result.

Reason #2: AVOIDANCE
Avoidance is essentially a coping mechanism for not doing what we're supposed to do and often times afraid to do. We choose to avoid or escape particular thoughts, feelings, and actions. However, avoidance ALWAYS makes matters worse. Whatever problem you think you have now, pales in comparison to the issue you'll eventually be forced to face. Avoidance creates terrible distance between where you are now and where you ultimately want to be.

Reason #3: LACK OF PURPOSE
When you lack clarity about your life - whether professionally or personally - you have no sense of urgency. When you're able to identify your passion and calling in life, you'll immediately see that clarity kills procrastination. Having a sense of purpose gives you the required fuel and fire to pursue your dreams. When you lack purpose, you'll find yourself procrastinating because you haven't figured out what to do with yourself. When your purpose is unclear, you'll constantly fall into a vicious cycle of procrastination. This happens to all of us from time to time.  

Reason #4: LACK OF SKILL 
Some of you may know your life purpose but don't possess the skills to fulfill your calling. However, this is the easiest of the five reasons for procrastination to fix. Remember, you don't need to master something in order to get the job done. Progress is better than perfection. However, you do have to take constant action. Think of it this way, your areas of weakness may be someone else's strength and vice versa. It's important to identify your current skill set and determine what you need to learn to advance to the next level.

Reason #5: DEPRESSION
When you lack clarity of vision, lack growth and have an inability to make and execute decisions - you may feel depressed and overwhelmed. Losing hope and no longer being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, is how I describe the debilitating pain of depression. It feels as though everything and everyone around you forcing your life to come to an abrupt stop.

Here are the 5 Key Simple Strategies to Take Massive Action and Stop The Procrastination

1st Strategy: LOVE AND PASSION
I absolutely believe when you have love and passion in your life, you can overcome fear. If you truly love what you do, the chance you'll procrastinate is significantly less.

2nd Strategy: COMMITMENT
When you recognize your purpose and pursue it with love and passion, you're able to fully commit to any task, goal or dream without hesitation and or procrastination. When you're committed to following your passion, you'll automatically possess a sense of urgency and a desire to want to achieve your desires.

3rd Strategy: CLEAR PURPOSE
Knowing who you are and what you're passionate about, brings a sense of urgency and excitement back into your life.

4th Strategy: CONSTANTLY LEARNING NEW SKILLS 
 You've heard the saying, "If you're not growing, you're dying." It's important to have a growth versus a fixed mindset. It's important to leader-SHIFT from being goal-oriented to growth-oriented. In order to constantly evolve intellectually and personally, our actions must be intentional.

5th Strategy: POWER OF VISUALIZATION 
When you visualize something and can literally see yourself holding all that you want in the palm of your hand, your mind automatically begins creating a strategy for achieving it - whatever it may be. However, you must actually be able to see, feel, and truly believe with every fiber of your being that what you want you'll manifest. Personally, I know how effective the power of visualization can be for you. You simply must see the end result first. If you can do this, procrastination will subside and completely disappear from your life. Visualize what you're intentionally doing and you'll knock it out of the park!

Remember, your life will only change once you give greater energy towards intentionally committing to your dreams than you do from the comfort zone of your fear and avoidance.

There's a big difference between motion and action. Just because you get out of bed in the morning, doesn't mean you're making progress. Taking action requires decisiveness, dedication, and clear intentional action.

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