It happens to all of us. We’re moving happily through our lives then all of a sudden we find ourselves procrastinating a big move, a next step, or a dire project and feeling horrible because of it.
The worst part is that we’re usually unaware of what it is that’s holding us back. Sometimes it takes a different insight, or a unique approach to get us passed the pain of being stagnant.
Below are 5 steps to keep you moving forward toward your goals.
1. Start taking action (in any way – or toward any task)
Remember when Shia Labeouf kept screaming at us to JUST DOOOOO IT! There’s a reason it went viral- he was right.
The only way to get moving toward your goals is to start taking action. It doesn’t matter if the action you take is unrelated to the task that you’re procrastinating. Put your mind in action mode by getting something done.
You will get your mind creatively thinking of the most incredible solutions when you stop letting it focus on the obstacles, the what-ifs, and all the reasons you can’t.
Take a step back from the overwhelming view of what you hope to achieve and bring your mind back to the present moment. Figure out what you can do right now at this very moment to improve any area of your life, and then do it. Take action.
It doesn’t matter how big or small the action is. What you’re doing is getting your mind in the habit of finding solutions and getting things done.
Maybe your action is to get up and stretch, maybe it’s to apologize to someone, maybe it’s as simple as ticking off one small item on your to-do list. Whatever it is, think about something you can do at this moment to improve, and then do it (after you finish reading this article of course).
When tasked with a difficult project or a life-changing decision, it can be paralyzing to look at the big picture and then consider what it will take to get there. We’ll never be able to map out the perfect plan to get what we want, so what’s the sense in obsessing over it.
Do what you can to prepare, but when your preparations are paralyzing you, then you know its time to STOP planning and START taking action.
Taking any small step forward is powerful. In no time, you’ll look back in awe at how far those small steps have taken you.
2. Strengthen your self-trust
It’s impossible to accomplish big goals when you lack self-trust, and a great way to build self-trust is to STOP making promises to yourself that you can’t keep.
Practice listening to your thoughts closely and commit to keeping the promises you make to yourself. It’s important to stop ourselves when we make a promise that we know we won’t follow through with.
Instead, pay close attention to your self-promises so you can stop your mind from allowing a false statement. Take the false statement you doubt, and keep reworking your thoughts until you come up with a promise you know is true.
This develops a sense of self-trust and helps eliminate self-doubt, which is usually one of the main driving forces behind procrastination and feelings of being incapable.
3. Brainstorm your problems
This is a practice that has withstood time and is used by masterminds around the world when they feel stuck.
Set a timer for 10 minutes, and freeform write your random thoughts. Keep the blurbs loosely focused on your obstacle at hand. Focus on solutions. Don’t write a cohesive story.
It doesn’t have to make sense, just write. Keep writing for 10 minutes and see what your mind lets out.
Sometimes getting out of our own way is all we need for our subconscious to have room to provide the answer we are looking for.
4. Remove emotion to allow brutal honesty with yourself.
Practice brutal honesty with yourself. It’s extremely tough to be brutally honest with yourself when emotions are clouding a situation.
When you sit there and justify why you feel a certain way, your emotions are controlling you, and you won’t be able to see a clear solution.
Instead of thinking about your issue with thoughts that trigger emotion, try laying out the facts. Pretend you are a solution driven observer who lacks empathy.
So, instead of thinking: “But I invested so much time and money into this, I can’t start over”
Try thinking: “How will starting this project over-optimize our ability to reach the end goal?”
This allows you to observe an option with more clarity.
Train your brain to remove emotions when necessary and start coming up with solution-based questions. If you don’t ask the right questions, you’ll never come up with the right answers.
Emotions will always exist. We are emotionally driven beings. The key to not letting them control you is to notice the emotions as they happen, observe them, and let them pass before taking action.
If your deep-rooted emotions are actually what’s keeping you stuck, sometimes clarity comes after a simple role play of pretending to step into the shoes of an observer.
Pretending isn’t just for children, it keeps our creativity alive.
5. Get your mind/body working as one
If you’ve ever stumbled upon a personal development book, then you already know the ultimate goal of getting your mind, body, and Self to work in unity.
This can get overwhelming when you start to explore your Self on a deeper level, but it doesn’t have to be so intimidating. When you get your mind and body working together on small everyday tasks, your Self naturally has room to speak up.
When you’re unaware of your personal driving forces then your mind and body will constantly fight and your Self will have no room (or energy) to contribute a creative solution.
We tend to get overwhelmed when we spend too much time exploring our Self to find answers to the bigger questions.
A powerful solution to this is to focus on the little moments in your everyday life and being ‘good’ and ‘true’ to who you are/aspire to be in each moment daily.
It’s easy to be at peace with your Self when on a beach with no worries or meditating on a mountain, but true accomplishment comes when you are mentally triumphant over common situations that you couldn’t effectively handle before.
Pay attention to your everyday life, and work to become who you want to be in each moment. Getting your mind and body to work together creates synergy, giving power to your Self and helping it speak up on the bigger issues when you need it the most.
A powerful first step toward getting your mind, body, and Self in tune with one another is finding a daily breathing practice. This 90-second breathing technique is one of my favorite methods to keep my mind clear and calm.
If you lack this sense of self-awareness, then doubt, failure, fear, and negativity will undoubtedly overcome you time and time again. Remember,you’re a human being, with the awesome capability to create your daily experience.
Don’t get overwhelmed! Start small with tiny everyday obstacles and watch as you completely transform your experience of life and achieve the goals and projects you’ve been stuck on for years.
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Thank you for reading. We sincerely hope this helped. If you enjoyed this, then subscribe to OmniMinds so you don’t miss out on a post!
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