I wanted to touch on a very common problem today.
It’s called “Doing nothing.”
There are a variety of reasons for this problem but here are some common ones that I’ve been guilty of myself.
The first is not knowing what to do.
We don’t have a plan so we don’t know how to move forward. We’re just sort of stuck.
The second is overwhelm. I think I struggle from this one the most. There is just so much to do we don’t know where to begin. An action might feel like just a drop in the bucket.
Finally we’re not sure if the reward will be worth it? Is it really worth all the effort to eat healthier and exercise? Or am I going to sacrifice all that and the rewards won’t match my effort.
OK let’s quickly knock these out one at a time.
Not having a plan or knowing what to do – Good news is you don’t have to have the whole thing figured out. Rather than the Ready – Fire – Aim mentality, subscribe to Ready – Fire – Aim.
Many times once you start taking small steps the rest of the plan becomes clearer. Bottom line is it’s OK if you don’t know how to get there as long as you commit to persist until you succeed.
Now let’s address overwhelm. As I mentioned I can struggle with this. It really doesn’t make sense though. Think about it. Since we have so much to do, we don’t do anything?
What if we did that with bathing? What if we thought about all of the showers we had to take for the rest of our lives? Picture all the wash cloths, soap, towels, and everything else that you would need for showers the rest of your life. Think about all the time it will take. Would you let that prevent you from taking a shower today? Of course not but that’s exactly what we do with other things.
As far as the reward not being worth it, that’s a lie we tell ourselves. Compare the difference in results between staying on the coach not eating healthier or exercising Vs. the opposite. Of course the outcome would be better. Sometimes I do think we need to change our expectations of what the rewards are. Even if the reward is just feeling more accomplished by challenging yourself a little more, it’s worth it!
One of the simplest and most effective ways of breaking the procrastination habit it to take a small step, even if it’s so ridiculously small you don’t think it’ll make a difference. It will. Instead of thinking about running for miles how about just lacing those sneakers up?
Billy Hofacker – Owner & Transformation Coach at Total Body Boot Camp – BS, CSCS