I Hate Procrastination!: Why You Should Too. How to Overcome It

Procrastination! I hate that word. I try not to hate a lot of things, but I do HATE that word! That one thing got in my way from growing a successful business for the longest time, and it ended up adding more stress to my life. So, as a result, Procrastination and I are ENEMIES! Procrastination will undoubtedly kill your business and almost any chance for success. So, it’s important that you avoid it at all costs. The problem is, we all have the tendency towards procrastination. So, the question how do you avoid it? Well to answer that question, we have to understand what procrastination is in the first place, and why we all have the tendency towards it. Literally, your success depends on your applying this information.rnSo, what is procrastination? We all know that procrastination is putting things off for another time the things we should be doing now. Why do we do that? Well, from what I’ve observed and personally experienced, it all comes down to FEAR. Yes, fear!rnIn some way or another, we’re afraid of success or failure. Or it could be fear based on something more complex. But, inequivocably, it’s because of some type of fear.rnFor example, many, many people procrastinate when they have to use the phone for business reasons. If they want to prospect somebody, close a deal, or just follow up on a customer, they have a great fear of doing that action. (I use to be like that, by the way.) Some people hesitate to do presentations, talk to new people, etc.rnSo, as a result, we end up sitting at our desks, shuffling papers, checking info on the internet, “planning”, or doing everything else in the world EXCEPT doing what we’re supposed to be doing to promote our business or move our business forward. If this is you, I understand. Like I said, I use to be that way. I use to waste time doing busy-work, avoiding what I really needed to get done, with the excuse that at least I was doing something for my business. I would say to myself,” I don’t feel up to doing this today. So, I’ll do it later when I feel more up to it. Right now, I’ll work on something else.” But, that ‘something else’ ended up being something that made no real difference to my making any money.rnSo, in overcoming procrastination, a mentor of mine told us to think of fear as an acronym: F. E. A. R. = False Expectation Appearing Real. rnThat’s it! Whatever the reason for my fear, I realized that it was only an emotion. I was allowing my emotions to take over my reasoning- over reality. I was expecting something something bad to happen. But that feeling was totally unjustified. It was completely illogical! And you’ll find the same is true for you if you sit down and evaluate the situation.rnFor example, for those that have a fear of the phone, ask yourself: “What’s the worst that could happen if I pick up the phone? Will the person come out of the phone and eat me up? Can he slap me in the face if he doesn’t like what I say to him? And if don’t like what he says to me, can’t I just hang up the phone?” Once you start to look at things logically, you’ll probably feel kind of silly that you have those feelings in the first place. But, I’m not making fun of you. (Remember, I use to be a huge procrastinator myself.) I just want you to realize that usually fear is just emotion taking over logic.rnI don’t want to beat this into the ground, but to further prove this point, think of a 6-year old child who’s afraid of the dark. They have a F.E.A.R. (false expectation appearing real). Now, let me ask you a question; Is that fear justified? Is it based on logic? He/she might even claim that there are monsters in their closet. But, it’s not until you cut on the lights and let them see for themselves that there are no monsters in their closet that they eventually lose their fear. Yes, it’s not until LOGIC OVERCOMES EMOTION that they lose their fear – does that make sense? rnSo, when we find ourselves shuffling paper, organizing our desks, and doing “research” when we’re supposed to be doing something else that actually builds our business and makes us money, then:rnSTOP, THINK, and ACT. Do what you’ve had planned to do for that day, even when you don’t feel up to it. Most of the time, after it’s done you’ll say, ” Wow! It wasn’t that bad! I can actually do this!” Keep in mind: an entrepreneur does whatever it takes to grow his business. And people need you to grow your business. If it were not for entrepreneurs starting businesses, where would jobs come from? Where would money flow from? How else would people get the products and services that they need? The economy needs us. People depend on us. So that should instill in you a desire to get things done. Do your business with purpose.rnIn overcoming fear/procrastination I’ve learned this: You lose your fear when you find your purpose.