What do you do when you need to do something that you don’t feel like doing?
Because I have ADD, I don’t really have a problem coming up with an excuse to not do something – I simply jump to another activity and justify the procrastination by saying “this is more important.” Somehow, I’m able to convince my mind that checking my email for the 15th time is definitely more important than working on that report or cleaning my refrigerator! As long as I appear to be busy, it’s easy to get out of doing things. I know. It’s a gift.
However, even though I’m gifted with the ability to procrastinate like a pro – there eventually comes the time that I simply HAVE to do that thing that I’ve been avoiding like the plague! Just because I’m very goal oriented doesn’t mean that I actually want to do all the necessary steps that lead to the goal – most successful people feel the same temptation to procrastinate – we are only human, right? E.M. Gray once said:
“The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do. They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.”
I like that. It’s a fancy way of saying their “want” for success (their goal) is stronger than their “don’t want” of doing something. So when I run out of excuses or busy-work keeping me too busy to do the thing I’ve been avoiding – or my mind refuses to fall for that trick of re-prioritizing my activities, what do I do?
The first step is to be honest with myself. I have to acknowledge the feeling that is keeping me from being truly productive. That means I say to myself, “I feel lazy about doing this.” Or I may admit, “I am simply procrastinating what needs to be done.” I am not suggesting that I justify or accept my laziness in any way; I’m simply acknowledging its presence. That way, I will stop spending so much energy in covering it up. There is power in acknowledging the truth. That was a pretty simple step – it didn’t require I get up from the couch or nothing!
Next, I start a mental list. (I would suggest you write it down, but that might require getting up and finding paper and pen…so we’ll just stick with thinking about it for now.) My list is comprised of benefits I would receive if only I would do the thing I’m not feeling like doing. Depending on what it is you are avoiding, these benefits could be huge or they could be somewhat insignificant. The point is to identify them. One of my favorite mentors, Jim Rohn (who recently passed) said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.”
My mental list may only have one or two things on it, but that’s ok. One is better than none. So far, I’ve admitted that I am procrastinating and/or feel lazy and I have identified one or more benefits that I would receive if I just do it – so now comes the moment of truth. Knowledge is power. I am equipped with enough knowledge now that I can make a solid decision. I now have the power. So step three is pretty simple too – I just do it or I don’t.
What? Did you just say sometimes you don’t do it? Yep. That’s what I said. And you feel good about that? Yep. I feel good about that. How? How can you feel good about not doing it? Wasn’t that the point of this article, to get you to do it? No. Let me explain.
The point of this article is to make you aware of your choices. If you are going to be successful, it’s going to be because you choose to be. Most people are led around by their emotions and emotional thinking is never clear and it is rarely wise. By getting into the habit of acknowledging your emotions, rather than fighting or ignoring them will empower you to engage your logical thinking rather than just turning over the decisions to your emotional thinking. By listing out the benefits of doing the thing your emotions are keeping you from doing, you are giving your logical mind the facts so that you are better able to make a decision. When you make a logical decision rather than being led around by your emotions, you will experience less stress.
If you are procrastinating doing something important, there is an underlying feeling of guilt and stress. But if you go through this process, one of two things will happen. Most likely you will do the thing you’ve been putting off because you realize the benefits are worth it. That makes your “want to” bigger than your “don’t want to.” Or this exercise will cause you to decide not to do something because the benefits did not motivate you enough. And if that is the case, you can go about not doing it with a clean conscious and no feelings of guilt.
“With self-discipline most anything is possible.” (Theodore Roosevelt)
You either want success or you don’t. Which is it? Only you can decide.
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