Designing a passionate life requires that you eliminate procrastination from your life. If you truly want to follow your passions, be inspired to take action and create the life you envision, there is no room for procrastination. It will stop you in your tracks and nothing will change and you will wonder why nothing ever changes.
What is procrastination?
Procrastination is defined as intentionally or habitually putting off something that you should do. That hits the mark. Procrastination is an excuse for not taking action and it works. Those who have perfected the act of procrastination are extremely creative when it comes to reasons for not taking action. Any of these sound familiar?
I am too tired.
I don't have time.
I don't know what to do.
I don't have the time or the energy to do this.
I don't want to do this.
I deserve a break.
What do you say to yourself when you procrastinate?
Why do people procrastinate?
People procrastinate for one reason, out of fear. The reasons for the fear can vary depending upon the situation and each person's self-talk. One person may be afraid of failing, and another person may be afraid of succeeding. People may have fears related to what other people will say or think. You don't want to look foolish, you don't want people to laugh at you, you're afraid your family won't support you. The reasons for the fear are very real and the list is endless.
The reality is that procrastination stops you cold. You can make plans, set goals, and intend a lot, but until you take action, nothing will change.
How do you stop procrastinating?
The first step to eliminating procrastination, is to be very honest with yourself and notice when you are doing it. When do you find yourself making excuses for not doing something you promised yourself you would do?
Step 1
Notice: Pick a week and notice when you don't get things done that you promised yourself you would. Write down the reasons you gave for not getting them done. What patterns do you see? What types of things did you procrastinate about? Did you ever do any of the tasks you procrastinated about? If so, how did you feel as you did them? How did you feel when you were done with them?
Step 2
Go Deeper: After you have a list of the things you procrastinate about, read each item on the list and really get back into the feeling of the procrastination in the moment when you were resisting taking action. What were you feeling in that moment? What emotion is beneath the inaction? See if you can spot an underlying theme to your procrastination.
Step 3
Clear the limiting belief: Because procrastination is caused by fear, then it follows that you have a limiting belief that is keeping you from taking action. After you discover the underlying limiting belief, then use some tools to eliminate that belief. You could use "The Work" by Byron Katie, The Sedona Method, or Emotional Freedom Technique.
Step 4
Reallocate Your Resources: Think about the time, energy, and money that procrastination costs you. if you reallocated all of those resources into action, your life would look very different. Use that time, and energy you use for procrastination to move you forward into action. Use your desire to live your passion to inspire you into action.
What is it costing you in terms of the amount of energy it takes to procrastinate? What is it costing you in terms of living your passions? Is it worth it? Stop procrastinating right now, and sign up for my free PDD report.