The Root Of Procrastination Has Nothing To Do With Fear
By: Sandi Krakowski
The habit and lifestyle of procrastination holds hundreds of thousands of wanna be business owners in bondage each and everyday. They start out great, begin to fade by lunchtime, head to the coffee shop for what they believe will be a 'pick me up' and later head to their bed for the evening knowing the sad fact is, they have done nothing.
Sometimes procrastination wears an ugly coverup called Perfectionism. It's a cousin in the family of failure. Very rarely do perfectionists appear on the cover of Inc Magazine or Forbes most wealthy. But to the perfectionist, the fear of even getting anything wrong is so great, they hold back in hopes of the delusion of perfect.
Do you see how it's related?
Procrastination however can be a bit more crafty and in many ways, even shady. It can come with a host of 'reasons' and 'explanations' such as being a late bloomer, starting out too late, giving into fear, holding back because of a spouse, not having enough time, money, energy or whatever the 'flavor' may be that day. But truth be told, procrastination has nothing to do with fear.
To procrastinate is to delay, to hold back and to put off. Far too many people are putting off their successful future in the impoverished thoughts of today. They give reasons for the delay, such as their race, gender, intelligence, age or even their weight…. but again, these really are not the things that hold us back in the abiss of procrastination.
When we put off, hold back and delay our destiny it's easy to become self-consumed and fearful. We might chase the latest greatest thing in hopes of a 'fix' for what ails us. But when push comes to shove, the undone column on our calendar is still greater than the done side.
Why do we procrastinate?
Scientifically I wish I could say why. Spiritually I believe there is some insight for us. And regardless of whether or not you are a Hindu, Catholic, Muslim or Christian makes no difference because the spiritual laws that exist are universal in application and result.
The root of procrastination is actually an inability to forgive most times. We can't forgive our failures, we can't forgive our mistakes, we can't forgive what others have done to us…. so we delay the process of success. We hold back and put off our dreams coming true because we've grown so accustomed to nursing and feeding our delusion, that we wonder how we'll ever live without it.
To the tender heart and sympathetic soul, it might sound like I am harsh, but please bear with me a moment. You see, I swam in the mire of procrastination for nearly 7 years as I waited for God to either fix me or take me home to heaven to be with Him. I delayed and held back, put off and reasoned away all the circumstances I could…. while all the while a fire burned within.
The self-absorption with my fixation became so toxic that it was no longer obvious that my delay was affecting more than just little ole me. My husband, children, friends and those whom I was called to influence were also affected. Sadly, it wasn't enough to motivate me. Until I heard God say, "Just get up."
The habit of 'just get over it' or 'just get up' was very familiar in my mind, but not practiced in a long time. As a professional bodybuilder and a single mom at one time, I knew that the act of getting up was imperative in order to not be sucked away. Sucked away by the influence of fear and sucked away by the strategies of loss…. and over and over again, I'd get up and get on with it.
But my season of procrastination brought with it a host of new demons. Being so self-absorbed with all that was being held back and all that was failing around me, it never dawned on me to "CHANGE THE TAPE". The tape of my subconscious mind had played failure for so long it never even dawned on me that it could be changed! Procrastination had dooped me into thinking 'never' was my reality and 'loss' was going to be my normal state. But then something in me shifted… and to those of you reading, I pray that it will shift in you, too.
My thoughts of, "What if it doesn't work " were changed to "What if it does?!"
My process of, "You'll never catch up" was replaced with "You're doing a great job!"
This later led to the change of beliefs on how I viewed people, my tasks, my energy levels, my body and more. The fake exhaustion that comes with procrastination was replaced with a healthy preoccupation of the thrill of 'get 'er done!' and to say things changed rapidly is an understatement!
My friends, if you are stuck in the slime of delay or the pool of poverty, have you ever considered changing that tape?
A decision leads to action and it can change the way you see everything! But I won't lie to you and say it will be easy, because it won't be. It will require you guard your mind, be careful what you let into your heart, be mindful of the company you keep and more! Negative media, music and neighbors have to go and they must be replaced with the most positive influence you can find! Habits of worry have to be replaced with habits of faith and the lack of planning has to be altered to include strategy and steps to follow.
Procrastination is not caused by fear but it sure can make you terrified if you succumb to it's venom. Procrastination is many times fueled by the reality of the result…. many people KNOW if they just did the right steps over and over again, they would succeed… so it's not fear that holds them back, but the awareness of impending success.
Do you struggle with procrastination?
Have you given into a habit of delay?
Let's kick procrastination in the face once and for all…. and create A Real Change in your life and your business, together.
With love,
Sandi Krakowski is a "Back To Basics Step By Step Business" expert who currently serves more than 102,000 clients in over 136 countries. Her systems help the average business owner as well as big corporations get extra-ordinary results quickly. She has a track record for her 'bringing it into action' processes that company owners find easy to implement with quick results. She has been working online successfully for the last 14 years.
