Procrastination was one of my biggest obstacles in life and I could see that it was sabotaging my success.
I will try to bring you the insights and experiences I went through to unlock procrastination. It’s not easy to see, it took me a few years to realize this.
I will work from a mechanical point of view by revealing the moving parts of the mind which, when combined, act like a clogged, filthy, smoking and self-defeating engine.
Let’s break it down:
Ambition – Procrastination gets worse the more ambitious you are
the obstacle – If you’re procrastinating, I bet it looks big in your mind.
Means – The more money you need, the bleaker the outlook will look
Instruments – If you are creative, you may feel that the software is too complicated
Volume – What you are dreaming may seem like you need a lot of work.
Knowledge – You may be thinking that you need to study more
Competition – You may feel like a small fish in a big pond
how lucky you are
Boom!! Procrastination sets in due to doubt and uncertainty, mainly in yourself.
Doubt sabotages all ambition, doubt is like old oil in the engine block that turns to sludge and clogs the pistons. Often we cannot see that we are doubting ourselves.
Overcoming doubt is where it begins. “Let’s find out how!”
The first hurdle is understanding how the mind works. When the mind starts to put the pieces together, if the pieces don’t fit and seem to be far away, the mind will turn on the red light which implies:
“How is this going to work? It seems impossible!” “The work must be a professional specification.” This leads to thinking: “Things may never work out.”
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Turn on Netflix, there’s nothing to watch
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Go to Facebook, nothing interesting.
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Watch YouTube, nothing interesting.
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Do you feel gross? “Goodbye energy!”
Sounds familiar? (We are all human, we all feel that way, even the best of us)
Step 1. Where it starts
We want to stand out, we want to brag, we want to succeed, we want to be the best, we want to be winners too! But when the road seems too far to go, we are already down.
The ancient Romans believed that success cannot be predicted, which also means failure cannot be predictedwe suffer more in imagination than in reality, we hate failing, we hate appearing to be a failure, we feel that we can be mocked as a failure.
“Learn to LOVE failure!” Failure is your friend!
You cannot succeed unless you fail. Failing is the same as making mistakes. Many mistakes added up become experience. Through experience we learn to become the teacher.
Therefore: Success is NOT in the future, success is today every day! Even if you put things off today, every minute that passes is another opportunity to try.
Understand the process, when something seems bleak:
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The mind begins its journey of negative thinking.
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Negative thinking leads to doubt.
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The feeling of doubt drains energy.
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You fall into fearful thinking mode
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pity sets in
Like a knot in a kite string. All you need to do is hang out the rope, sit in a quiet place, let your mind settle, put on some relaxing music, and start untangling the knot, unraveling the clues in your mind.
For me what works best are the great Stoic philosophers of Ancient Rome and Greece. On YouTube, search for the RedFrost motivational channel, “BE UNSHAKEABLE – Ultimate Stoic Quotes Compilation”
Sit quietly and listen to those quotes, you will start to see how life fits together. What starts to happen?
“New ideas!” “New ways of thinking!”
New ideas are effectively the opposite of doubt. New ideas are exciting, they give you that youthful imagination that tickles your spirit! They become these little butterfly bubbles in the belly!
Do you want proof?
Do a search on Soundcloud for a song written by “Groove Biscuit” called “Flutter.” The lyrics say, “Flutter on the wings of a butterfly,” actually reminds me of butterflies in the womb. Give it a listen when you start to feel butterflies bubbling in your belly, the song is made to get you going with some good driving energy!
Energetic music only works when your mind starts turning to positive thinking through fresh ideas! They generate hope! They make you feel like you have a chance! The truth is that every day is another opportunity for you to try!
Become sensitive to your gut feeling, watch the cloud lift in your mind that arouses the gut feeling, you may begin to feel a sense of excitement! The butterflies start turning into energy, which then turns into more ideas, which then turns into exciting ideas!
This will reveal to you:
What is causing the procrastination, or rather what is not causing the energy to kick in and get you going and inspiring you need to believe and feel yourself get up!
Learn to unravel it yourself slowly but surely, piece by piece.
Remember, there is no rush, take your time, let him relax on his own. You’ll know it’s working when you start to feel inspired or feel like a weight has been lifted from your chest.
Now I can quote the great former Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius: “Look within. Within is the source of good, and it will always spring up, if you ever dig.”
Step 2. Where it grows
If you have a dream of being successful and somehow you know deep down inside that somewhere, somehow you have it in you to be great. The truth is that you are right, you have it in you!
The universe moves slowly, a galactic year takes 225 to 250 million Earth years. 25920 Earth year for the sun to rotate the zodiac. You have just entered the Age of Aquarius for example.
If you closed your eyes for 10 years and then opened them, I’m sure you’ll agree that the world has changed a lot. If you were to look at the earth tomorrow, would you see any other difference besides the weather?
Success happens over time, there is no other way unless you win the lottery. Even then, many of the lottery winners ended up spending all their money.
To be good at something, you need to develop a daily habit. Every day you have to get up to try, even a little. Believe that even a 5-minute YouTube video on a topic you love is enough to get you started.
Convince yourself that progress is almost always slow, don’t let it bother you to have to wait. Learn to be happy with what you have. If you didn’t have them, you may miss them.
Being happy with what you have I will not do it focus on what you don’t have. Everything that has come to you in one form or another, so much more will come in one form or another, there is no doubt that it will come to you.
Success is a journey, a successful journey is a process of discovery! If you’ve read this article so far, you’re already searching and discovering things!
Keep going, keep looking. Look for things that lift your spirits, TURN OFF the news, negative information will distract you, turn off trivia and useless information, seek success, read quotes, watch interviews with Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos.
If you’re a startup founder, watch “Start Up Grind” on YouTube. Many venture capitalists speak there, explaining what they look for in the founders of a new company.
If you’re an artist, writer’s block is a form of procrastination. Learn to love the tranquility, turn off the noise, sit in nature, breathe and relax. Let the mind wonder, all you need is a few moments to capture your breath and thoughts.
Let your mind relax and release, then try again every day of your life, no matter what!
Fall in love with the work, let the work itself make you feel good, not the reward.
