The Ugly Truth About Procrastination
You don’t have to have it all figured out to move ahead
Procrastination shows up in many ways and when I found out that at the core of it was fear I knew I had to face them somehow so I started asking myself some questions.
I have and I guess you have also been in situations where the conversation went along these lines… “Maybe if I have everything in place then I can start,” or “Well if I knew how it would turn out then I would know how to proceed” or “If I had the right qualifications then I can start.” When probed further to explore why we think we might need these things I have found that fear of the unknown is at the root of these. For the longest time I have played in this field too and in a conversation with my sister sometime ago I said to her -
“I am tired of being tired.”
“I am tired of the way things are ,”and
“I am tired of speaking about things and not doing anything about it.”
“In short I am tired of being afraid!”
She looked at me and said, I understand. That sentence was loaded as I interpret. I could feel in my bones that should we have this conversation again in the future she will stop me at the first mention of anything familiar that I have talked about before, because if I was really tired then I would do something about it.
So, I put on my big girl pants and promised myself to start moving even without all my ducks in place. I know this fear and overthinking so far hasn’t gotten me anywhere at least not where I want to be and it is the cause of many dreams dying before they are even realised so in weeding out this fear from my own life I have adopted an exercise in which I ask myself these questions, which I got from my mentor Bob Proctor:
Do I really want this thing (change, goal, whatever it is that is desired)?
Is this in alignment with God/Source’s plan? You may ask how do you know that and this is where the 3rd question comes in.
Will having this particular thing be to the harm of others? Then lastly
Will having this benefit myself and others?
If I am able to answer Yes, Yes, No and Yes then I know I have no excuse but to find a way to start and to trust that according to the universal law of Cause and Effect, whatever effort I put into this thing I am sure to reap its exact results. I need not know how but trust that my actions will produce results.
So if you find yourself right now in a place of over analysing a move you have to make, try these questions above and see where it gets you then don’t stop there start taking action. For there is no written rule of how you get rid of the fear when you overthink and do not act, the only way to overcome the fear barrier in procrastination is to work through it. By doing so you not only overcome the fear you also get a step closer to the desired outcome.
In this life I do not know of a single person who’s died and come back and has the perfect solution to how life is to be lived. What I know for sure is that everybody who’s made it in life at some point took a leap of faith not knowing the outcome but working towards a desired outcome and trusting that whatever the outcome, two things are guaranteed. Either achieving the goal or finding out that the first move is not the right one, either way there’s no having it all figured out to start but starting where you are and with what you have.
Thinking you have to have it all figured out is like wanting to get to the destination without the journey but mind you it is in the journey that growth, development and improvement occurs. Life they say is happening as we are busy planning or waiting to have it all figured out but the truth is we will never have it all figured out to make the perfect move or reach that goal. Definitely not but what we can do is make the first attempt, work towards that goal and trust the timings of things because as long as you move ahead and not stay stuck you are sure to experience a breakthrough. Try these questions to overcome the procrastination barrier and do share your thoughts in the comments.