What is one sole element in our life’s that causes us to never achieve our ambitions or always continuously postponed doing first things first; the answer to this question is procrastination.
Procrastination is a strange phenomenon that seems to make our life’s more pleasant but yet instead it always does the opposite and adds stress, depression, disorganization, regret and frequently failure. In my book I call it self inflicted pain. You purposely while been aware of the consciences stab user self the effects may not appear immediately, but may manifest with time.What you don’t do now could have great implications in your life, could be financial, job wise, relationship wise purchasing a house or certain product, not doing it now could leave you regretting for the rest of your life or blaming others for your misfortune.
We spend so much time whining weather or not that a particular thing can be achieved or not. Being reluctant to take risks or try something new, staying at home or in the same old job, getting sick when faced with an unpleasant job, avoiding confrontations or decisions, blaming others or the situation, Not paying bills on time or credit card debts.
We making big plans but never carrying them out. We have business ideas but never get around to doing them until its too late then we will be like hey I once had this idea, but this company did something similar and made millions.We continuously struggle to get rid of procrastination. We schedule and plan , we make promises and make resolutions that never come to pass, we organize and reorganize. Generally, we accomplish a short lived refreshment from procrastination, and then crash soundly back into it.
The core fundamental difference between highly successful person and ordinary person? The successful person has mastered the art of avoiding procrastination and simply does what needs to be done first things first, while the ordinary person has not mastered the art of not avoiding it thus continues to procrastinate
Wayne Dyer “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy”.
Some ways of overcoming procrastination
There is no right way or wrong way of breaking the procrastination habit. We all have the ability as individuals to make choices and take action upon those choices, you have a choice to read this post and practice the steps outlined below, you have a choice not to.
Start taking an active role in your life and be a doer
Be open minded
Change cannot come unless you want it to come and you take it upon your self to do something about it.
Have a drive to do what is required
Don’t be Perfectionists They start tasks but put off completion until it meets their standards for perfection. However, these standards are most likely not recognized or appreciated by others, and thereby the perfectionist has wasted a lot of time to accomplish the unnecessary.
Consider the risks of waiting for that last minute
What if you got sick, priorities changed, or an unexpected crises or event developed. Recall the nightmare experienced the last time you procrastinated until the last minute.
Think of the end in mind what will be the benefits after completing the task at head.. or maybe it’s a business you wanted to start. If you actually pulled your self together 10 years from now you could start ripping the benefits.
When we procrastinate, we get behind before we even start, and create a major time problem
Learn to trigger high energy moments on demand
We all have moments when we have high energy and low energy. At high energy times, we feel strong, and almost anything feels easy. At low energy times, things can feel overwhelming. Do tasks which you procrastinate on at high energy times. On low energy times, get on with tasks which are not as important, and trust that a high energy moment will come high energy times can be triggered by rewards systems, you need to find out what gives you high energy moments.
Have a positive mental attitude
Just do it!
Force your self to start. Do the thing that you most fear. For example confronting a situation or a business idea you have in mind that you never got around to doing. Napoliean Hill “Most of us go through life as failures, because we are waiting for the “time to be right” to start doing something worthwhile. Do not wait. The time will never be “just right” “
Reward yourself
Create a reward system for your self, when you have completed a task or a major milestone reward your self. For example you can take your self out for dinner or my favorite I treat my with a whole cake. Appreciate the feeling of getting something done. Focus of attention moves away from the difficulty of the task to the rewards derived from completing the task.
Trigger momentum
A clear, written description of your top goals, goal setting is very important with a clear cut written goal you know where your going and thus can prepare for it.
Carry out repetitions of affirmations
Words of affirmation are words of self encouragement a positive self talk statement, stated in the present tense that covers a goal you want to achieve and that ‘overrules’ negative beliefs towards that goal.
As we grow up during our life’s we are conditioned to think in a certain way this conditioning comes as we pick up beliefs, fears and limitations from our surroundings, peers, family and friends that gradually form the person we are today. Some of these beliefs are sadly negative which with time limit our potential of what we can do and achieve in life. For example a mother tells a child that “You are no good you will always be a failure” if this statement is repeated enough over time the belief is harnessed by the child and in time the child will be a failure. I have witnessed this occur my self as it happened to my cousin
Words of affirmation help one achieve tasks. As it builds up a strong desire to want to accomplish the tasks at hand.
When you wake up before work or school tell your self
“I can do anything well when I put my mind to it”
“I must finish all tasks assigned to me before the end of the day”
“I will find the answer for A by the end of the day”
“I am not a procrastinator I can do all that is required now”
Repeated suggestions of affirmations give your subconscious mind instructions of what to do with time it will come to pass.
Set a deadline
Put your self on record, promise others motivates your self that you will have it done. often promising others is more powerful than promising your self as you don’t want to disappoint or be seen as a person who never keeps his word. Take for example your doing a project and you promise your manager to deliver by this date and date. Your credibility will be put to the test when you make a promise. This can also apply to a relationship with our spouse.
Refuse to rationalize
Avoid making excuse for unacceptable behavior. Theirs no need to justify why you cant do what you have to do.
Accept responsibility of completion of task
Gather all necessary material so that when you get started you don’t need to get up or move around till your task is completed. Best way to complete a major job , break it down. Categorize and work on it
A written plan gives you a blue print on which to work with. Think on paper, thoroughly prepare,
Think of the future
Having clear idea of what is really important to you in the long-term makes it much easier for you to make better decisions about your priorities in the short-term.
PROCRASTINATION ROBS US OF OPPORTUNITIES TO BE SUCCESSFUL
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