Jack Canfield breaks down four reasons you procrastinate: boredom, feeling overwhelmed, doing work you hate, and distraction. For each, he gives a specific fix, like tackling your hardest task first or making an action plan you actually stick to.
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Hi there. Jack Canfield here. And today I want to talk to you about something that may be holding you back from achieving your goals. And that something is procrastination. Do you ever put up a task, such as a presentation that's due for work or end of the month reporting, only to find yourself in a mess of panic and anxiety as you scramble to finish it before the due date? Have you ever asked yourself, why do I do this? Well, I can tell you why. It's because it's a habit. Now go on, admit it and say it aloud. You are a procrastinator. If it's any comfort, you're not the only one. Just about everyone procrastinates. Now, sometimes that's good, but mostly it's an insidious, chronic malaise that will cripple your future. So why do you continue to procrastinate despite knowing that the end result will will only produce turmoil and subpar work? Well, there are four good reasons why you may be choosing to procrastinate right now. But with a little help, you can overcome this nasty habit and take decisive action toward achieving your hopes and dreams. The first good reason you may be procrastinating is you're bored. It's a fact of life. We all feel less than enthusiastic from time to time. And sometimes our work becomes routine and we end up just going through the motions. But how do you combat this? Well, first, recognize that you're bored. Be conscious of your feelings, your falling energy levels and your lack of desire to finish your projects. And then ask yourself a few questions and be totally honest with your answers. Am I bored with what I'm doing? Why am I bored? What would give me a lot more energy? You see, successful people maintain their excitement by constantly going after new projects and bigger opportunities. They thrive on taking new risks and the possibility that they might hit a massive home run. And that uncertainty makes it even more appealing. Keep raising your level of expectation, and never become satisfied with routine business that requires no challenge or ingenuity. The second good reason you may be procrastinating is because you're overwhelmed with work. Often, people procrastinate because they let things pile up. Instead of handling one task at a time and taking each task to completion. This may start with just one little thing that doesn't get done because the time wasn't right or you just didn't feel like doing it. But then something else comes along and you postpone that too. And now you've got two things to do individually. Neither one seems too big to accomplish. But together they create resistance inside of you. And after a while, a growing list of a half dozen items or more has been put off and procrastination has really reared its ugly head. And if you're not careful, this can begin controlling you, and you will become overwhelmed and won't know where to start. So to combat this, start each day by doing the list of tasks you least want to work on, or the tasks that are the most challenging and most rewarding. Then you won't have to worry about them piling up and looming over your head. The third good reason you may be procrastinating is because you're doing work you don't really enjoy. And there are two sides to this kind of dilemma. The first is that all of us are required to do certain things we don't enjoy. That's one of the rules of the game. If you want to become more successful. You may not like it, but that's just the way it is. And successful people do the things that unsuccessful people don't like to do simply because they need to be done. They don't enjoy doing some of these same things either, but they go ahead and they do them anyway. And this is a fundamental point, one that you need to fully understand. The other side of the coin is that you may be stuck in a mediocre job or career that just doesn't allow you to use your greatest abilities. And if that's true, then look for an opportunity to expand your talents. Life is too short to be stuck in work you don't enjoy most of the time. The type of work you do should stimulate you and give you energy. So why stay in something that drains your energy and isn't fulfilling if you need to? And you're not switching careers due to fear. Or remember that the biggest rewards in life are found outside your comfort zone. Live with it. Being willing to feel the fear and take action anyway are prerequisites if you want to enjoy a life of success and adventure. Now, the fourth good reason you may be procrastinating is if you are easily distracted or maybe just downright lazy. And I'm going to be blunt for a moment. If you avoid taking action because you'd rather put your feet up every night and watch movie reruns on tv, there's little chance you'll be enjoying an abundant lifestyle anytime soon. The bott bottom line, Success takes effort and consistent, focused activity. I promise you, laziness is not part of the equation. Now, keeping these four reasons in mind, I want to leave you with a bit of homework to complete after you're done watching this video. Start by writing down a list of things that you may be putting off doing right now, and then go over each one and ask why am I putting off doing this thing? And if you can't think of a good reason why you can't or you're not completing the task, then make a plan of action for how you're going to complete it, and by when and to hold yourself accountable. Leave a comment below with the list of tasks you're going to complete and by when, and I'll follow up with you guys to make sure you're staying on track. Thanks for watching and remember, nothing will change for the better until you do. Now, if you found this video helpful, make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to my channel for more videos like this one, and for some additional resources on how to overcome procrastination and take decisive action, visit my website at jackcampfield. Com.
