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Think better. Feel better. Do better.
Procrastination is a mental monster that can get the best of us. For many, it’s born out of feelings of anxiety, distorted thoughts about our abilities, and sometimes pure laziness. Whatever your goal, whatever your intention, and whatever area of your life you want to improve, you can choose to apply strategies to help you beat mental obstacles to accomplish the things you dream about in secret. Here are 5 QUICK Ways to Beat Procrastination & Accomplish Your Goals with Ease!  1. Start Now. Ok. I admit. This is kind of cliché. But things become cliches for a reason, right? The thing is - there’s no way around this. Even if it’s a small step, take it! For example, if you intend to get in shape and you’re daunted by even the thought of going to the gym. Today – take ONE small action. Do ten pushups. Or take a 5-minute walk around the neighborhood. Or go to the gym and just hang out in the sauna for 10 minutes.  In physics class, we learn of the kinetic force called inertia. If you don’t use something [an object, a skill, a tool, a machine] it develops rust. It stops working properly. It loses its functionality. If it’s a skill, your brain begins to forget. Use it or lose it! It’s as if the less you do, the less you want to do. Your brain will get that way if you fail to keep it focused, directed and occupied. To fight against inertia, I suggest you do one of three things – or a combination.
 Some people need to shock their system, others need to ease into things. Others need both. Of course, it’s uncomfortable, but the brain needs a certain level of stress to change. Movement is necessary. THINK ABOUT IT!  That old machine that was out of commission in the back of the garage or out in the shed is squeaky, loud, crickety, and obnoxious when you start using it again. When you buy new shoes, as much as you like them, it might take a while for you to love them because it takes time to break them in. Similarly, whenever you start doing something new, as excited as you might be, know that you will also feel anxious and frustrated because you’ll be fumbling around, making random mistakes, and definitely feeling some level of discomfort. But, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.  Knowing what to look out for is half the battle. Remind yourself that your brain needs that pain and anxiety to shift and change – for the better. Gradually you’ll establish a flow and get into a rhythm. Before you know it, you’ll be in the middle of doing something amazing!  2. Pace Yourself. The best runners use a pacer to help them stay on point. Even super-athletes use pace-setters to help them stay on target. A pace-setter also helps a champion athlete manage their emotions and the understandable urge to speed up too. By so doing, the pace-setter helps the athlete avoid burnout and effectively manage their resources before they reach the finish line. I read this amazing statistic recently that men who had used a therapist the previous year, increased their earnings by at least 13% to subsequent year. Female clients increased their income by at least 8%. What does this mean for you? If you can afford it or have access to it, find a mentor, a therapist, a coach. Find someone to be your pace-setter! If you aren’t able to find professional support, you must learn to do it yourself. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Watch YouTube videos that teach on the subject you need help with. Google it! Self-pacing requires a level of patience, discipline and thought management. Why? Sometimes we want things to happen too fast. We hate to wait. We think because we started the diet on Monday we should be in the bikini by Saturday.  Slow your roll. In the Caribbean we say, “Take it easy Man!” Pacing yourself doesn’t mean you’re being a lazy lush. Instead, learn to give yourself the best possible chance to succeed. 3. Make SMART Goals . SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and relevant, and above all, they are time- oriented. Research clearly states that you have a HIGHER chance of successfully completing a task if you use SMART model to draw up your blueprint of how you will successfully bring this goal to completion.   Complete this Exercise: Use the examples below to see how you can easily make SMART goals. Then, identify ONE thing/idea/goal/intention you want to accomplish or create. Use the SMART descriptions to help you clearly define and structure your goal. Specific – State exactly what you want to create. I want to own and run an online store selling printed T-shirt’s sizes S to XL Measurable – You must have a way to confirm that you did exactly what you were going to do. I want to sell at least 10000 T shirts by the end of this year; earning a gross of at least $100000 in sales. Attainable – Ensure your goal is something achievable or you’re just dreaming. Not cute. Never hang your hat where your hand can’t reach. Ok. It’s probably too late to become an astronaut if you’re 50 and have not yet completed high school. I’m not saying it can’t be done. But uh... (side eye). Realistic –Focus on doing things you know can be reasonably accomplished. You can wish for wings like a dove if that’s what you want to do. But trust me, nobody else will be flying way up in the sky with you. Time Oriented. Put a deadline on things. You can’t leave your goal-completion target open-ended. That’s a recipe for disaster. You might still be “working on building my own business” twenty years from now. Don’t waste your time or that of the people around you who have placed their hopes in you.  4. Write Things Down. Everyone forgets! The most brilliant ideas can be lost because you didn’t record them. Architects and professional builders know to draw out their plans. Yes, you can envision the finished product in your mind. But because your brain is always wanting to make space for new data, it will sideline your fabulous ideas. If you’re not vigilant about capturing them, by the time you try to remember those awesome ideas that popped into your head while you were lying belly up in the sauna, your brain might have already said, “Buh-bye!” and lumped those suckers in with the other junk in your mental storage files. As fast as life happens sometimes, who knows what emergency might have transpired that required your complete attention and distracted you from that wonderful T-shirt company you were so passionate about last week. What else? Your child got sick at school, your work supervisor was on the warpath again, you missed your last Discover card payment and was forced to focus on negotiating a solution to keep your struggling credit in check. I’m just saying…  Writing things down is powerful. Keep a journal Get a diary Use the NOTES section in your phone Record a voice memo Create a vlog 5. Take a Leap of Faith Finally, you know how THEY SAY, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die?” Sometimes, THEY talk too much! And, sometimes, THEY’re dead wrong. This time? THEY are right. You have to be willing to fail. You have to be willing to succeed! You have to be willing to be a human being and feel all the feelings human beings feel when they have to do new things. It’s that simple.   The biggest success trick I know, is you must Do It NOW! If you refuse to do the things that are on your heart to do, a part of you will always feel as if you are a fraud. A liar. A disappointment to yourself. You’ll be the same person looking at your cousin feeling bad about yourself or even worse, feeling completely jealous at what they’ve accomplished. The only difference between you and your cousin is that your cousin made the choice to do new things that felt uncomfortable at the time but now they’ve become a pro at. Once you’ve identified your goal or the task you want to accomplish, direct all of your attention and efforts towards its completion. It might cost you a lot. It might hurt a little or it might hurt a lot. You will know it’s important to you if they thought of looking back when you’re sixty knowing you didn’t pursue that goal seems even more painful than doing it now. Be courageous! You have one life to live. Put in the time, energy, and effort and you will see results. Above all, remember that even if up to this point you’ve tried and failed and been disappointed and frustrated as you’ve tried to create and accomplish new things, there is only one of you in this planet. Therefore, you have a unique and special offering to make in this world. For all your imperfections, LOVE AND ACCEPT YOURSELF, anyway.  In another blog, I will share how you can use powerful words, phrases, and affirmations to train your brain to focus even more effectively on success. All the great mystics and spiritual teachers warn: Whatever you focus on becomes bigger. You get more of it. So, will you focus today on that thing your heart really knows you must create?  I hope these 3 affirmations will help you to forgive yourself for those past half-hearted efforts at creating the success you say you desire.
Even though I’ve flaked on my decisions to create the things I want in this life, I love and accept myself. Even though I feel disappointed in myself for not creating the success I desire, I love and accept myself. Even though I haven’t done my best to accomplish my goals in the past, I choose to Do It NOW!
2 Comments
12/11/2019 03:50:23 am
Though it was quite long, the important thing for me is the fact that there are lots of things that I've learned from you. More of an inspiration to avoid doing procrastination because we will not benefit from it! Please always think that delaying things you can do right now is an opportunity lost for you. When you procrastinate, you lost not just time but an opportunity to rest and make quality products of whatever may it be. In order for us to save time, let us use it wisely; in the most smart way possible! 8/10/2021 08:28:11 am
I admire your unique way of writing especially the style of using the idioms and phrases which is mind-blowing. I hope you will not mind if I adopt this style of your. Many thanks. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Triphinia “Triphi” Margaret Wallace is a Licensed Psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also an Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist and Reiki Level III practitioner in the Usui tradition. After over twenty-two years in clinical practice, Dr. Wallace has developed a neuro-psycho-spiritual approach to her practice that is grounded in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Neuroscience, Creole Psychology, and Psycho-spiritual techniques such as Hypnotherapy, Mindfulness/Meditation, and Reiki. Dr. Triphi graduated from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Her published academic works include a doctoral dissertation on the association among problem-solving appraisal, hopelessness, and suicide among low-income, African American women, and co-authored peer-reviewed articles on the relation between alcohol use and intimate partner violence, and the utilization of routine health screenings in the diagnosis of depression among African American adolescent males. Dr. Triphi published her first book, Do It NOW! A 7-Step Plan to Beat Bad Habits that Block Success in February 2018. In November of 2018, her second book; a companion workbook/journal called, Do It NOW Workbook/Journal: Powerful Exercises to Fix Bad Habits that Block Success, was released. Dr. Triphi regularly volunteers with the Red Cross conducting pre- and post-deployment reconnection and resiliency workshops with active, disabled, and retired military service members and their families. Most who know her describe Dr. Triphi as an empathetic practitioner, and an engaging presenter with a ready smile who receives rave reviews from those who listen to her teach. Archives
March 2021
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