It kills your success, so how do you stop procrastinating? While you’re pondering and prolonging getting things done, your competitors are working circles around you, finding your ideal clients, and cashing in on the success that could have been yours. Maybe you’ve fought with it for years, but can you really stop procrastinating?
As a reformed and genetically gifted procrastinator myself, I’ve learned a thing or two about the why and how to stop procrastinating.
Procrastinating isn’t really the issue, it’s a symptom.
There are emotional ties to underlying issues that are like the prongs on your diamond ring, they hold it firmly in place. If one gives, there are still others to keep it from getting loose. That’s why sometimes your best attempt at trying to stop procrastinating fails – there are still more things holding it firmly in place.
Awareness is the real solution.
Though there are many more reasons, there are typically 4 significant issues that have entrepreneurs holding back on moving forward.
1) Fear
It’s not just the fear of failure that can keep you stuck. It’s also the fear of the unknown that comes with success. How will your life change? Will you be able to continue the momentum? Will your relationships change? All valid questions and ones you must answer for yourself. If you can’t get past your fears holding you back, how will you ever experience success? You won’t. Entrepreneurship is full of risks and unknowns, and you have to learn to be ok with that.
2) All or nothing thinking
A destructive mindset (think of being on a diet, and using one slip up as an excuse to eat everything you can get your hands on). Yep, it’s like that. Success is built on the principle of small steps, not one giant leap. Are you using the “if I can’t do it all right now, then I’m not going to do anything” way of thinking keep you stuck? Learn how to chunk down your big goals and schedule your tasks so you can get things done.
3) Perfectionism
Perfectionism is the perfect enabler of procrastination. Waiting, tweaking, re-doing are extreme time-wasters and will leave at the back of the pack when it comes to your success. Remember that your entrepreneur university lessons are generated by these two things – DOING and LEARNING. Perfection is an illusion.
4) Guilt
You’re so busy beating yourself up for procrastinating that it leads to more procrastinating. It’s just time to get over it. This moment is a fresh start if you CHOOSE to make it so. Sometimes you just have to be tough with yourself and DECIDE that enough is enough. Self-loathing serves no purpose, nor does guilt. Take that energy and put it into this : Do, Learn, Repeat.
Until you’re aware of the real reasons why you’ve been procrastinating, you can’t possibly learn how to stop.
I’m curious to know which ones you identify with… do you see any of these 4 things in yourself? What resonated the most with you? when you to think back a year ago, or two, or even five. Where were you in your life?
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