Lydia Martin explains procrastination as fear of failure or fear of what others think, not laziness. Endless planning, perfectionism, and hidden drafts are how these fears show up. Confidence comes after you act, not before, and failure is just data.
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You. We're kicking off a brand new chapter of the podcast with a special 21 day series called From Purpose to Impact. I'm celebrating by giving back to listeners who are ready to take the next step. If you've been feeling stuck, overwhelmed or unsure of how to move forward in your online business, I want to hear from you. Simply go to youronlinebusinessmentor.com and tell me what's been holding you back or ask a question you'd love for me to answer on the show and you'll be entered in a special listener giveaway for access to programs designed to support you in your journey. I can't wait to help you get unstuck and moving forward. Welcome back to your online business mentor. This is day two of our 21 day series from Purpose to Impact where we're talking honestly about what really holds people back from launching what's on their heart from that purpose and impact that they want to have on the world. So yesterday we talked about why waiting for clarity can keep you stuck. But today I want to talk about something very closely connected to that procrastination. Honestly, I could be the President of Procrastinators Anonymous. So if you're like me and you've had moments where you've told yourself that you're just lazy, distracted or unmotivated or maybe bad at follow through, I actually think it's a completely different issue. Most of the time, procrastination isn't the problem, it's a symptom. The real reason you're procrastinating on your business or your new idea is usually fear. Now, not obvious fear maybe, but that quiet, very reasonable set fear. Fear that hides behind logic. I hear this all the time from entrepreneurs I work with. Things like I just need a little more time. I just want to think through this a little bit more. I'm not avoiding it, I'm just being careful. And I get it. I used to say those exact same things. But looking back, I can definitely see what was really happening. I wasn't procrastinating because I didn't care. I was procrastinating because I cared a lot. There are two fears that show up again and again when people are stuck in procrastination. One is fear of failure and two is fear of visibility. So I want to talk about both of them. Fear of failure is the fear that most people recognize, right? As I've been reading through the questions people have been submitting for the podcast, here are some common ones that have shown up. What If I launch and nobody signs up, what if this proves that I'm not cut out for this? What if I put it out there and it doesn't work? This fear is what keeps us tweaking, refining, overthinking, and preparing to get ready over and over again. So you keep telling yourself you're almost ready, when the truth is you're just afraid of the outcome. And I lived here for years. When I first was deciding on the business I wanted to launch. I was so scared of making the wrong decision. I thought, if I choose the wrong thing, I'm going to waste a bunch of time. If I fail, it will confirm that my inner critic was right. And so instead of deciding, I delayed. I put it off. There's another fear that was in there as well, and that is the fear of visibility. This is the one I have an acronym for. It's called FOWOT F O W O T and it stands for fear of what others think. How many times have you said to yourself, what will people think if I put myself out there? Or who am I to teach this? And what if people I know see this and judge me? This fear keeps things hidden. Drafts stay in folders, ideas stay private, and offers never get talked about. Now, you might tell yourself you're not ready yet, but what you're really avoiding is being seen before you feel perfect. And this fear was huge. For me, putting myself out there meant being visible before I felt confident. It meant people from my past could see what I'm building. And it meant owning my role as a teacher and leader. And trust me, I understand how vulnerable this feels. One of the questions that came in on the podcast was, how do you feel the fear and do it anyway? For me, I had to put my focus on the people that I serve. When I stopped looking inward and started focusing on the impact it would have on others, I realized it's not about family members or friends who may see what I'm doing. Because most people are worrying about themselves, not not following every single detail of what you're doing. So while we get nervous to post something new or share our goals and dreams, the reality is most people aren't even paying attention. And when we think they're overanalyzing and judging everything we're doing, they don't actually see the big picture. The more you can press in and focus on the people that will be impacted by what you do and what you share, the easier it is to take that step forward. Procrastination isn't laziness. It's protection. It's your brain trying to keep you safe from perceived risk. But here's the problem. What feels like protection in the short term often becomes the very thing that keeps you stuck long term. When you procrastinate, you don't just delay the work, you delay momentum, confidence, learning. You don't become confident and then take action. You act and confidence follows. Fear also doesn't disappear before action. Action teaches fear, that you can do it, that you can survive it, that it's all going to be okay. So you don't need fear to go away to move forward. You just need to stop letting fear make the decisions for you. I am so glad I didn't stay stuck in fear and stuck in procrastination. I've learned over the last six years to embrace imperfect action. Even in creating this 21 day podcast series, I've had to let go of things like having the perfect music, having the perfect script, and doing all the things perfectly. I really just want to show up and talk to the audience who will benefit from what I have to share. So I encourage you to do the same. Don't let procrastination, fear of what others think, or fear of failure hold you back. There isn't failure versus success. Everything we do is on the way to success. We launch to learn. And so when we do something that doesn't get the results we were hoping for, we learn from it, we tweak, we recalculate, and we move on. The more you can embrace this, the faster you will get the results you're looking for. I hope this episode has encouraged you to focus on what you're called to do. So here's a simple question I want you to ask yourself. What are you more afraid of right now? Failing quietly or being seen trying? And what would change if you just took one small step forward anyway? Not a huge leap. Not this huge perfect launch. Just one step forward. Because procrastination loses its power the moment you decide to move. And that's how purpose turns into impact.
