Why Do We Procrastinate?

A problem many of us suffer from is procrastination – putting off tasks until a more convenient time, or tomorrow (which never comes!). With a business, we enjoy some things and it’s easy to do actions related to that, but some tasks can be a struggle which we find easy to put off (phoning potential clients, writing marketing material, etc.)

Just One More Chapter

There are many reasons for procrastination:

• Overwhelm – you have so many tasks to do it’s easier to throw your hands in the air and do nothing.
• Fears – what if you do all these things and nothing comes of it, will you have failed.
•  Or what if it leads to great success – can you handle the responsibility and demands on your time? Sometimes it’s easier to do nothing because at least that way you don’t have to deal with the consequences.
•  You don’t feel you have the ability to do the task and you’ll do it badly, so why bother.

Take a look at why you procrastinate. If it’s a case of overwhelm, then prioritise your tasks – which ones will lead to more income or more customers, do those first if that’s what you want. Take one task and break it down into manageable steps. Ignore the unimportant tasks until you’ve done the priority tasks.

If procrastination is because of fears then you need to work on this otherwise you won’t achieve your goals. Find yourself a good coach, talk to a friend about it, write about it, anything which helps. Why waste your energy on procrastinating when you can spend it usefully getting over your fear blocks – as with most things, once faced and out in the light, they lose their ability to scare you.

It could be that you’re just lazy! In that case, outsource the tasks you can’t face doing. Maybe you can swap with someone else. There are always people who love doing the things you really don’t want to, so find them and work out how you can pay them if you don’t have the funds.

We have no problem doing the things we love, so take some time to work out what causes you to stop doing the things you have to do. You owe it to yourself to create that successful business and not spends days, years putting off the tasks that will lead you there.

Swim with the Successful People

What sort of people do you hang around with? Are your friends and acquaintances upbeat and positive, or do they like moaning about the world, the economy, how they’ll never afford the car they desire, etc. Of those two groups of people, which do you think have a chance of being successful? Hopefully you said the former group!

Find the Right Crowd

Think about successful people like Richard Branson – do you think they sit around complaining or rather, do you think they let nothing stop them and take action until they succeed. The fact is, we all have setbacks in life, on a personal and professional level. What sets the successful people apart from the complacent ones, is that they never let these setbacks stop them from achieving their goals and dreams. They always focus on being successful whatever their situation.

So think about your friends and the people in your life. Wouldn’t you rather be surrounded by positive people who will support you in your endeavours to create a successful business. When times are bad in our business, we need such people to encourage us and keep going, rather than giving in to people who have the “I told you so” attitude.

That doesn’t mean you drop all your friends. Rather, start to read books which encourage a positive attitude – look on the Internet for sites and articles, e.g. www.success.com (make it your home page!). Go to networking events just to meet like-minded people. Doing these things will help you realise that you’re not alone in creating a successful business. Just like we feed our bodies with healthy food, our thoughts and emotions need a supply of “positive” food to help us along.

Is Your Destination Set To Success?

Are you worried about making a success of your business? Ultimately, it boils down to our mindset – are we completely sure we can be successful?

A few weeks ago, I went to a lovely village called Broadway in the Cotswolds, England. I had a route I wanted to use at the back of my mind but used the sat nav as backup. The sat nav led me a completely different way and throughout the journey I was wandering whether it was taking me to my destination! Eventually I realised that it was 🙂

Destination Success

But the thing which struck me was that when I didn’t know for sure, I had many doubts about the sat nav – why was it taking me this way, would I even get there. Once I knew it was right, those doubts fell away and I could enjoy the journey knowing I would arrive where I wanted.

What struck me is how similar this is to creating a successful business. If you have no business training and are trying to create one, then you may worry and have doubts – have you got what it takes to be build a strong business.

The flip side is if you’re new to business yet know without a doubt that you can be successful – see how different this feels. One make you hesitant about the actions you’re taking, the other gives you the confidence to do what it takes.

That is how you need to think/feel if you want to build a successful business – be 100% certain that it will happen and that you are taking the steps and actions that will get you there. Just feeling like that gives you the confidence to do what it takes. It’s the doubtful thinking which causes us to give up or feel we can’t achieve it so let go of those.

So set yourself the destination of success – see yourself leading a successful, happy business and know with complete certainty that you will reach it.

Smash the Barriers to Success!

In my last blog I wrote about overcoming any blocks you have to success.  This takes courage because we don’t like admitting “bad” things about ourselves – I mean, who wouldn’t want a successful business!

 If you really intend to create a dynamic, successful business, then remove any beliefs and thoughts which are holding you back, otherwise they will hinder you’re progress. Why is this? Because at the subconscious level, these beliefs will determine the actions you take, e.g. how to deal with rejection by clients – will you keep going or will you stop because of rejection fears.

Embrace the Waves of Success

Ultimately, if deep down you don’t think or want to be successful, you won’t be, simple as that. Consciously you may think being financially free and having a great business is your aim, but the subconscious trumps the conscious mind – everytime!

Find some time when you can be alone and admit what is causing you to be fearful of success (see some of the reasons in the last blog). Write it all down – like anything, once you face it, its power over you disappears.

Then take your list and sit down. Read through them and ask yourself if you’re now willing to release them. If you are, rip the list up into pieces knowing that you are releasing all these blocks to success as you do this. Close your eyes and visualise a fire, see the pieces being consumed by the fire. Or see them being washed away by a river – whatever feels good for you.

The aim is to see the blocks being removed. Take a deep breath, exhale and know that they are now gone and you are free to move forward to creating a fabulous, successful business.

Do You Really Want To Be Successful?

There are times when we’re doing all then right things, but nothing much seems to happen, or we get to a certain level in the business and just can’t go any higher. What’s going on here?

 As I said before, my training in NLP and interest in neuroscience has made me realize that some of us have fears of success (sounds strange but it is true). Consciously we want the money and financial freedom, but subconsciously we have blocks which are preventing that from happening and subconscious trumps the conscious mind everytime!

You may ask, why on earth would I be scared of being successful? Here are a few reasons:

• My family/friends may treat me differently once I’m successful.
• People will want my money.
• People will become jealous of my success.
• I won’t know if new friends like me or my money,
• My old friends may leave me because I’m different to them now.
• I’ll have too much responsibility handling a successful business.
• I won’t have any time for myself.
• I’ll be busy all the time making sure the business is going well.
• It’s lonely at the top.
• What do I do once I reach my goal?
• I’m not sure I can lead people all the time.

That’s just a few! It’s not a question we often ask ourselves since in this society, most people think wanting to be successful is the norm. But this is worth doing to see what’s happening at the subconscious level.

Find some time where you can be alone and in a peaceful place. Close your eyes, breath deeply and relax for a minute or two. Then ask your subconscious if you have fears of success or repeat the statements above and see which ones make you feel uncomfortable. For example, if you say “I’ll have too much responsibility handling a successful business” and you feel  uncomfortable, then that’s a sign that you may have a problem with this.

Write down whatever comes to mind and find the blocks to success. It’s easier to overcome them once you actually see them. One way is to write affirmations to counteract them, e.g.

• I’m a great leader and can easily head a successful business.
• I have lots of time to enjoy myself and make sure my business is a success.

Read my blog on affirmations to make sure you write and use them correctly – May 10th, “Get Into The Groove”.

You’re not the only person with these fears. The good thing is there is a solution and all subconscious blocks can be removed once you know what they are.

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