How to stop procrastinating and take action towards your big vision

Are you finding it difficult to get back into the swing of things in the new year?

Do you find yourself hesitating…especially with the steps towards your big vision?

Are you putting stuff off until later?

If so, you may have just caught a very contagious disease we call in these parts…procrastination.

You’ll know if you’ve caught it.

All of a sudden, washing your clothes seems a much more interesting prospect than sending emails, you find yourself daydreaming in the middle of meetings and that new business idea you were working on can wait until tomorrow.

In more advanced stages, you may have retreated into a little snuggly den on the sofa (in your pyjamas) and nothing is going to coax you out…not even an inspirational podcast.

So you’re kind of in limbo, rushing around ‘being busy’ but with no real strategy in place and certainly not getting anywhere.

Believe me, this can go on for months, even years if you don’t address it. I speak with women all the time who are still procrastinating over leaving corporate and making their dreams a reality.

So what is procrastination?

It’s a DREAM CRUSHER that’s what it is.

Procrastination is a BITCH.

The Oxford Dictionary defines procrastination as ‘delaying or postponing action; putting off doing something.’

But let’s get real here and call it what it really is.

If you’re procrastinating you have a fear of something. Because if you didn’t, you would be living your big vision RIGHT NOW.

So what are you scared of?

Are you scared of failing?

Are you scared of losing all your money?

Are you worried that people will think you’re crazy?

Maybe you’re fearful about the thought of changing so much that your friends and family won’t like you anymore?

Maybe right now you’re thinking; Come on Abi. I’m not scared. I WANT that life. I’m not blocking myself from my dreams. It’s just that;

It’s so hard

or

I don’t have time at the moment

or

I can’t afford it

or

I need to do some more training first

Well my lovely, it’s time for some tough love.

They’re just excuses and you will always find an excuse not to step into your big vision until the very day you die.

You may think that these barriers are reality but in your subconscious mind it’s a different story.

Your subconscious mind is afraid of rejection. It’s hard wired to think like this. Because back in the day, if we were rejected from the tribe we would die.

So we were programmed to fit in and have the warmth, love and protection from the tribe.

Our brain is constantly trying to take us back to a safe place. A place that feels familiar. A place where we won’t die.

That’s why, when we push ourselves out of our comfort zone and make big changes in our lives, we more often than not procrastinate.

Well it’s your choice. You get to choose the rest of your life.

You can either stay where you are, procrastinating away and I’ll come back and have a chat with you in 10 years and you’ll still be where you are now.

OR

You can make a decision to kick procrastination to the curb and make decisions that are aligned to your vision.

I’m not writing this from a place of smug superiority. I still suffer massively from procrastination.

But now I recognise it for what it is, and I don’t buy into my fear stories as much as I used to.

Here’s something really simple but powerful that helps me.

I do the tasks that I dread first.

So for example, I’m a recovering ‘perfect person’. When I worked in corporate I never asked for help because I thought that people would think that I couldn’t do my job. If I gained this reputation, it would be disastrous for my career.

Even now I often struggle to ask for help. But I know that asking for help will get me where I want to be.

But I still don’t like doing it.

So if I know that I need to send out 20 emails asking my contacts for a referral, I will do it first thing in the morning.

That way, it over. It’s done. I’m not going to be procrastinating over it all day and I can get on with the fun stuff like recording videos and coaching my clients.

Try it and let me know how you get on.

But really, the biggest way to get over procrastinating is to see it for what it really is…..fear of rejection. Once you understand that, you can get some help around moving forward.

So if you’re ready to get some help and support with changing your life for the better, send me an email, at hello@abigailrebecca.com share your big vision and tell me what’s holding you back.

I will help you.

You only live one short life. Don’t waste it by procrastinating. Take some action, change your life, live your dreams.