One of the most destructive effects of procrastination is the fact that it makes you feel out of control. Procrastination is like an ‘invisible force’ that keeps you from doing the very things you know you must do. With the increasing demands on our time and attention, there seems to be an increase in procrastination as a chronic problem, especially among those people that want to succeed the most. Procrastination usually sets in when you feel overwhelmed by all the ‘have to's in life and instead of making steady progress you take on too much without ever getting any of it done.
Feeling out of control takes away all your power to shape and direct your own life. It’s true that there are many things over which you have no control, but you always have full control over what really happens to you – and what really happens to you is a mental process independent of the circumstances and events of the outside world. Being empowered means that you realize that you already have the power and this realization also gives you the ability to take action. Here are five empowering procrastination tips that can help you to reach this realization and become empowered to effectively deal with procrastination and inaction.
It’s All Inside:
Procrastination is an internal process and although it might feel like it’s happening to you, you are in actual fact responsible for it. This procrastination tip can help to put you back in control almost immediately. Procrastination is not an external force, but an internal response and evaluation. The simple realization that it’s ‘you’ that is doing it to ‘you’, gives you the power to do something about it.
It’s All You:
When procrastination drags you down it’s all too easy to think that ‘it just is and that you can’t do anything about it. Although it feels like you have no control, you actually do. In fact, this is why you feel out of control – because you believe that you can’t do anything about it. There are two very important beliefs you need to develop to help you break free from procrastination. The first is that you CAN overcome procrastination and the second is that YOU can overcome procrastination. No one else can do it for you and because you created it, you can un-create it.
It’s All In Your Head:
The reason why most people remain stuck in patterns of procrastination is because of fear. At the most fundamental level, all forms of procrastination come down to fear. What you don’t face controls you. To overcome the fear and the procrastination that comes with it, you need to confront and do the very things you don’t want to do. The instant you do, you take charge and it no longer has any control over you. The ironic thing is that fear only exists in your imagination – it’s always something that hasn’t happened yet. Procrastination is not real – it’s only the way you evaluate things in your mind.
It’s All about conditioning:
Success at anything in life relies on consistency. The best of the best at anything are those who can repeat their greatness consistently. The way you get consistent is through conditioning. Your nervous system operates through conditioning. When you do something over and over again it becomes ‘normal’ and when it’s normal you don’t have to think about it – it becomes automatic. The challenge is that this principle works both ways. Whether your conditioned responses support you or whether it pulls you down, your nervous system does not make that distinction. If procrastination is your conditioned response you will always feel out of control, simply because that’s what you’ve ‘learned’ to do automatically. You simply need to ‘recondition’ yourself to a new response; to teach yourself to respond in a different way..
It’s All about awareness:
Procrastination does serve a purpose - and a very important one as such, but only if you are aware of the benefits. We only procrastinate about those things that have value to us. At some level, either directly or indirectly, you believe that taking action will benefit you. If it didn’t it would not bother you, right? Be grateful for procrastination and use it as a guide to ‘know’ what you need to act upon. Being aware of this fact, and developing an awareness of what you do and fail to do can empower you to be in charge of yourself on a much higher level.
When you are empowered you are in charge, and even if things seem to go wrong on the surface, underneath you know that you have the power to deal with them effectively. Procrastination is disempowering and it takes away your ability to take immediate action and deal with any situation. Always remember that you are ultimately in charge of yourself. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow. Don’t delay.
Good news: from getting organized to maximizing your time, there are some easy ways to stay focused and achieve your goals.
What Areas Need the Most Work?
Watching a reality TV show may be more entertaining than cleaning the green film off the shower stall but it won't keep your home from becoming a biohazard. Establishing and sticking to priorities will help you spend less time worrying about what needs to be done and more time accomplishing your goals. Consider using Sunday evenings, when you normally mourn the end of the weekend, to review weekly goals and priorities. This is a great way to stay focused on what you want to accomplish without getting ahead of yourself.
Cut Out the Junk
If you're like most people, you keep possessions well beyond their usefulness. You have a problem when neighbors begin mistaking your garage for abstract art. Consider selling old appliances, clothing, and furniture that add clutter to your life; to avoid the hassle of a yard sale, use Web sites such as eBay and Craigslist to sell secondhand goods. One day you may even be able to park your car in the garage.
Give Someone Else a Spot
Pledging to be more active in your community is an important goal. Instead of shying away from volunteer opportunities, make a point to reserve one day a month for charities or functions. Nonprofit organizations are flexible when it comes to working with volunteers.
None of these tips will take effect if you don't implement them into your daily routine. It only takes a couple days of procrastination before you're smothered by daily tasks and confused about what to do next. You will change your habits only by being proactive and setting constant reminders. Remember, Rome was not built in a day. By being patient with your progress and approaching your goals sooner than later, you may have some great accomplishments to celebrate.
Life is nothing but an obstacle course, it's all about getting through that obstacle course to your desired goal that most people seem to have a problem with.
It's only normal to encounter obstacles in the pursuit of your goal. It's kind of a test to see if you're worthy.
However, when these obstacles start to become a nuisance to the point of almost putting a stop to your goal(s); or worse, making one completely abandon his/her goal, one must take action and think things through.
So, with that said, here are some helpful, tested pointers that will keep your attention focused on achieving any goal that you put your mind to.
Think Positive
This means: Do not quit. Especially when one is midway in working toward a goal, there should be no room for quitting.
To quit is tantamount to going back to the starting line of goal accomplishment. That is time, energy, money, and a whole lot of things wasted and lost. It is more costly to quit than to find a solution to the problem, not to mention the frustration one feels.
Keep a clear, open, and tense-free mind
Always be ready to receive new ideas. Focus and concentrate. Think in a wide-scale manner and always be open to new options to eliminate the particular obstacle you are currently dealing with.
Persist and Persevere
Be sure to exhaust every possibility, even to the point of trial and error, just to be sure that there is a solution to correct the problem you're dealing with.
Simulate
Try to picture inside your head a possible solution to help overcome and/or solve the obstacle that's setting you back.
Ask for Help
If all fails, get assistance from others you know who are more knowledgeable on the work being done. Their suggestions might not necessarily be the exact ones you were hoping to hear, but they may trigger some NEW ideas in finding the right solution to your problem.
We’ve all done it at some time or other. We put off our exercise routine until tomorrow; we continually delay finishing that project or starting that business.
Procrastination is the mother of all demons and can literally stop you in your tracks from achieving all that you desire.
Here are 4 effective processes you can use to slay this giant.
Do it now
Hold your breath and jump right in! Putting things off until the last minute is a bad habit and like all habits is ingrained in our subconscious minds and hard to break. It feels like the normal thing to do and we simply continue along our path. To complete a task immediately may even feel strange or like a forced action.
Take baby steps
Sometimes we procrastinate because the task may be intimidating to us. Perhaps we have no possible inkling on where to start. In these cases, it is quite fine to take it one step at a time. Say you are preparing a business plan and for the 5th time this week, you’ve turned on the PC and looked at the blank screen. Or you’ve just remembered you need to do some more research before you begin…you’re still not ready. You simply need to break down the project into smaller pieces and tackle each bit separately. Make each task an individual project and after completion of each one, celebrate and acknowledge your achievement.
Forget it
Why force the issue? If you have been ‘dragging your feet on something for a very long time, it may all be for the best. Something somewhere is trying to tell you something. That something is your intuition and it is usually right! Think about something that you have been putting off again and again and again. What are the reasons that you need to complete this task in the first place? Does someone want you to do this? What is THEIR agenda? What are YOUR reasons for this lengthy delay? I find it amazing that 99% of the time I put off doing something, I am thankful that I did! Disregarding a project after a long period of procrastination is however usually a last resort.
Support team
Do you put off tasks because you feel that they are too big and complex for you to handle alone? Or because you need assistance? Be honest with yourself. “No man is an island”. Ask for help! There are many resources out there that can provide you with all you need to carry out your job. If you’re a solo professional and you put off answering emails, then don’t answer them yourself. Hire an assistant, find some college students that want experience, and get a family member to help. Procrastinating on life-changing activities could be a result of fear of the unknown. Get a mastermind group together, find a mentor, and join a support group. You don’t have to do it all by yourself. Just ensure that to kick this habit; you do what feels good to you in whatever method you choose. You’ll surely postpone procrastination for a very long time.
Feel free to think of money blocks as a form of self-sabotage and bad relationship with money. No matter how hard we toil, we find that this thing inside our subconscious mind, that we may not even know is there
Luckily, though, harmful money beliefs are possible to stop, and the very first step to doing this involves identifying which particular form of money blocks we have in the first place.
13 Ways to Release Money Blocks with Your Mind Power
You can release mental money blocks with your mind power. All you need to do is believe it is possible and be willing to try.
It may seem strange, but it’s true! Your thoughts can make your life better or worse, depending on what you choose to think about. When you focus on money blocks, this often leads to more mental blocks; when you focus on releasing them, they tend to disappear.
1. Be Aware of How You Talk About Money
There is power in the tongue. While this saying doesn’t usually mean that we can cast actual spells with our tongue, it does show how powerful what we say can be in shaping our subconscious mind.
Uttering statements such as “money is the root of all evil” can serve a very bad relationship with money.
On the surface, it just seems like just another statement. Still, deep down, it dramatically reduces the probability of success by deciding how we act and react towards opportunities for financial abundance.
2. Seek Wealth, Not Money or Status
The prolific tech entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant once said that one of the best ways to ensure financial success
He was absolutely right, of course. You see, more money and wealth may seem like the same things to many of us, but in actuality, they are pretty different.
Money is just what is on the surface; the current legal tender we transfer value with as quickly as possible. Wealth, on the other hand, is more profound and lasts longer.
○ Wealth Gets You Your Freedom
Money flow may last for a while, but it is subjected to too many external factors to be regarded as an ultimate goal.
One of the main objectives of anyone who goes on an exercise to remove their own money blocks should be to get rid of elements of luck and secure a solid path towards success.
Focusing on long-term wealth instead of short-term money is a veritable way of achieving this. You want to build wealth. You don’t need to work hard when you have wealth because it keeps earning for you even when you are asleep.
3. Focus on Building Real Skills
You have to be before you can do, and do before you can have – Zig Ziglar
A very effective way to clear money blocks is to build up fundamental, tangible skills rather than earning money just for the short term.
This long-term, short-term approach plays a vital role in reconstructing our subconscious mind and making us focus on what’s really important. Striving for short-term gratifications is a sign of a blocked mind.
Instead, those who free up their mind to endless possibilities of success build a solid foundation now. Through skills and self-development, they set themselves up to experience profound, unprecedented, and long-term success when the time comes.
4. Earn While you Sleep
There’s a famous saying that if you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you’re going to have to work all your life. This is a veritable sentiment backed up by the fact that the only way to be ever genuinely independent is to find a way to make money work for us instead of doing the work ourselves.
Those who scoff at the idea of making money while they sleep, or even regard it as some unachievable fancy, usually do so due to common limiting beliefs that act as biggest money blocks.
To get rid of these blocks, we must not only realize that it is, in fact, possible to earn money in our sleep, but we must also find a way to make this a reality.
○ Leveraging Technology
Perhaps in the past, when there was no such a thing as the internet, earning in our sleep could have been veritably regarded as a ridiculous idea. Nowadays, though, with the internet available 24/7, it is not.
All we have to do is find a way to set up a system capable of reaching people even while we sleep, and the system will handle the rest.
5. Be Realistic About What You Want
A common consequence of severe and common money blocks is its tendency to deprive those who suffer from it of a clear path towards achieving their goals. Because of their limiting thoughts, they are usually unable to really formulate actual actionable strategies through which they plan to achieve good financial life and live an extraordinary life.
The first step to eliminating this muddiness and achieving clarity
The emphasis here is on realistic because another symptom of not having proper money mindset is setting wildly unrealistic goals.
Once we meditate on our strengths and construct realistic strategies grounded in reality, we find ourselves well on the path towards eliminating common money blocks and achieving financial success.
6. Any income is Privilege
Trade your expectation for appreciation, and the world changes immediately. – Tony Robbins
Remember that in life, nothing is ever guaranteed. Money issues don’t just stop people from achieving financial success by making them dormant. It also has a way of causing lethargy through disregard and lack of gratitude.
○ The importance of Gratitude
Let us take, for instance, two scenarios. In the first scenario, we have someone who recognizes that every little income is the right step in the right direction.
They see the bigger plan and appreciate every little success. This, in turn, gives them a bigger drive to move on.
However, in the second scenario, we have someone who gets frustrated because they feel they’re not getting enough money or what they deserve. Instead of appreciating the little thing and building on it, they let the frustration eat them up and kill their drive.
This, in turn, leads to more frustration.
It is easy to see which of these is a sign of a money block and which isn’t. By appreciating the little things, you set yourself on a path to removing this block and achieving success.
7. Avoid Comparison
Comparison is one of the most common money blocks. Not only does it cause distraction and stagnation, but it also has a way of fostering self-hate.
When we look at others and compare their achievements, income, and success without even looking to understand how they got there, we breed an atmosphere of jealousy in our minds.
This, of course, leads to jealousy, frustration, and all the hosts of negative emotions that come with it. Luckily, solving this problem is easy.
All we have to do is avoid these needless comparisons, and we set ourselves on an easier path to success without being our own worst enemies.
8. Remove Distractions From Your Life
Turn off your social media notifications. No, seriously, do it right now. Unplug devices that constantly throw in your face glamorous lifestyles that are built-in nothing but fakery.
There is no denying that the world we live in now is filled with incredible tools and opportunities. Sadly, it is just as filled with useless distractions.
Identifying and eliminating these distractions is an absolute must to build proper money mindset and carve out a path towards financial independence.
9. Positive Visualization
The mind’s eye is powerful. We already mentioned how powerful the tongue is. Well, the mind is even more powerful.
Before we say it and mean it, we first have to think and picture it in our minds.
The combination of both these two can be our biggest strength against most subconscious money blocks.
○ Visualization Reconstructs the Mind
The objective of getting rid of subconscious money blocks is to remove all the negative, limiting belief about money that we already have in our money mindset. To do this, we must connect to the core belief of our brain.
Forming vivid pictures inside our heads is without a doubt one of the most effective ways to achieve this.
Whenever you have a second to think and visualize, picture positive images, think about the day you wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore. Smile to yourself as though it has already happened.
10. Uncomplicate your life
Next up on the journey towards building proper money mindset with the power of the mind is going through the act of thorough simplification.
Life is quite complex on the surface, which is why as humans, we owe it to ourselves to try to make everything as uncomplicated as possible. Yet, it is not rare to find out that instead of doing this, we make things worse by doing the opposite.
○ The Simplification Process
Limiting thoughts thrive with complications. They latch onto the complex web of difficulties in our lives and assure us that every negative thought we ever had was true.
To get rid of these blocks, we must make our lives as simple as possible. This means a detailed schedule,
Basically, we must do everything to ensure our life is as smooth as possible. Life is complex enough on its own; there is no need to worsen it all by adding our own drama.
11. Cultivate an Abundance Mindset
It is the configuration of the mind to see every challenge as a stepping stone rather than an obstacle.
People with fixed mindsets believe there is no room for growth in the human brain. People with abundance mindsets know for a fact that where they are is only a starting point towards further success.
A fixed mindset is a corollary of money blocks. An abundance mindset, on the other hand, is an invaluable weapon against it. Manifest abundance mindset, and you’re well on your way to eliminating any subconscious money blocks with the power of your mind.
12. Neuro-Linguistic Programming
It is a process that helps modify limiting subconscious beliefs and behaviors. The goal of the NLP techniques is to remove the blocks that prevent people from achieving their goals, or from experiencing life as they would like.
○ NLP and Money Blocks
The originators of NLP posited that our behavioral patterns, along with activities that go on in our subconscious mind, can all be influenced by the kind of language we choose to use in our daily lives.
NLP has been used to help with money blocks in many different ways. One way that NLP is used in this field is by overcoming negative thoughts and feelings about money, such as greed or fear. Another way it can be used for this purpose is by changing the frequency with which positive thoughts and feelings about money occur in someone’s life.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming can help people identify where they have these negative money mindset and help them overcome those blocks so they can make better money decision about their finances.
13. Surround Yourself with Positive Minded Individuals
Lastly, it is good to have in mind that negativity reinforces negativity while positivity breeds success.
We tend to emulate what we have around us. Where negative people will tear us down and make us believe our negative thoughts are true, positive people will spur us on, challenge us, and inspire us towards climbing the hurdle and achieving the success that has always seemed to elude us.
Conclusion
Money blocks are so dangerous because, more often than not, people who have them don’t even know that they do. Furthermore, thanks to the fact that they are buried deep down in our subconscious mind, these dangerous unconscious beliefs can carry out their limiting actions while being cleverly hidden.
Thankfully, though, as stubborn and challenging as they are, it is quite possible to get rid of money blocks.
All in all, one thing that’s always important to have in mind in any quest to get rid of mind blocks is that the mind is the most potent weapon in our arsenal.
Money blocks do their damage by corrupting the mind, but the mind is so powerful that it can get rid of any corruption in its system if we let it.
By following the thirteen guides above, we’re very well on our way towards clearing our brains of money blocks and building a sustainable path towards financial success.
Fear gets to the best of us, whether it is fear of failure, fear of success, or even fear of fear. All of us have experienced fear at some point in our lives and it can be a real stumbling block that holds us back from being truly successful.
Fear can’t hold you back forever if you don’t let it. There are several ways to overcome fear,
here are my top 9:
1. SEPARATE REALITY FROM PERCEPTION
Ask yourself what is really going on, locate the facts and place them over your feelings.
2. IDENTIFY THE TRIGGER
Figure out what it is in a situation that triggers you. Learning to identify it will help you learn to combat it.
3. KNOW WHERE FEAR LIVES IN YOUR BODY
A lot of times, fear takes over physically. It affects different people in different ways. Identify if/how it affects your physical body and do the work to take care of your body. Ex: if you hold stress in your back, you can learn stretches, foam rolling, etc. to avoid the pain.
4. PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Every day, list out 1-3 things you are thankful for. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, gratitude helps shift the mind into a positive light, which over time, overcomes fear.
5. LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE
Monitor your inner conversations. If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, don’t say it to yourself. Speak positively to yourself and remind yourself of your strengths.
6. CREATE A NEW ASSOCIATION
Remind yourself that the feeling and the moment will pass. Focus on the positive outcome of the situation, rather than the scary in-between.
7. LOOK AT THE GLASS HALF FULL
Perception is a very powerful thing, and how you feel about your situation dictates how you respond. So think positively and you’ll give yourself a much better chance of success. This won’t happen overnight; practice with just one thought. What is one recurring negative/fearful thought you have? Work on reversing this one thought. Over time, this will become a habit.
8. PRACTICE BREATHING EXERCISES
Breathing helps center your body; when you stop breathing, your heart stops beating. You can do a grounding exercise, or even just take 5 deep, long breaths at any point to calm and center yourself. It is best to start your day with this, but feel free to practice all day long.
9. CREATE A SAFE SPACE
When you feel safe and secure, there is no room for fear. Find somewhere safe you can retreat to when ill feelings begin- whether this is a real place such as your bedroom, or a place in your mind such as the beach. This sense of comfort will soothe you and allow you to face your fear.
Please keep in mind, that these are just 9 strategies, not everything works for everyone.
But this is a place to start.
Start implementing these techniques into your life and don’t let fear hold you back from reaching your goals and your highest potential this year!
Determining what our purpose is in life can be one of the hardest questions that we as humans must try to answer.
Have you ever wondered Why I am Alive? What is my purpose? what exactly I must Do?
In this article we will be going through a step-by-step process, exploring your feelings and options, and by the end, you should have a fairly solid tool you can immediately employ in your life, to help give it a meaningful direction!
There are three steps to the process of discovering the purpose of your life:
Understanding the principle of choice
Creating your “underlying principle”
Aligning your life with this underlying principle
Understanding The Principle of Choice
Norman Vincent Peale has this to say about the power of choice. “The greatest power we have is the power of choice. It is an actual fact, that if you have been groping under unhappiness, you can choose to be joyous, instead. And, by effort, lift yourself into joy. If you tend to be fearful, you can overcome that misery by choosing to have courage. The whole trend and the quality of anyone’s life are determined by the choices that are made”.
“Choosing” is the most important activity of your mind, because by making a choice, you are proclaiming your desires to your subconscious mind. Once the subconscious mind gets to know your desires, it is going to do anything to manifest them in your life. The choices you make in your life become your goal. And, if you are sincere in pursuing them, there is no reason why you should not accomplish them.
Indecision, on the other hand, not only creates frustration and anxiety but can also confuse the subconscious mind about what you want. But it is important that the choices you make are made by you, in accordance with your true desires, purposes, and aptitude. A lot of us let others make choices for us or make our choices according to what we think is ‘correct’, even if that means that we go against our wishes. What is right for someone else may not be right for you, and the way to know this is by listening to what your heart says.
So, to begin with, make a list of things that interest you; things that you have always enjoyed, which make you feel better, and which inspire you to surge ahead, no matter what obstacles you face. Do you like doing something creative, or something artistic? Do you enjoy nature? Do you like the sea? Do you enjoy helping others? Do you get pleasure out of making a difference in other people’s lives?
Whatever it is that interests you, write it down and answer these questions:
What thing do you love to do?
What is it that you love in this thing and why?
How could you do this for money, and make a living out of it?
Creating Your Underlying Principle
The next step is to examine the list you just made and find out if there is any recurring theme. Maybe, it is the contribution that keeps coming up, or an effect to seek or give love, or helping your parents cope with old age. Whatever it is, try to identify the central theme of the things you love to do, and try to put it in a short and precise statement. This will be your ‘Mission Statement’. It may even be a quote by a famous person, or a philosophy that has influenced you. Of course, as you grow up, this statement could evolve, but its soul will remain the same. Now, write down your Mission Statement.
Aligning Your LIFE With Your Underlying Principle
The final step in this journey is to map your path to your ultimate purpose and to begin implementing changes that help to align your daily life with your underlying purpose. By making these little changes in your lifestyle, you will start to be able to begin living this principle out each and every day. It might take a few days, but by becoming aware and intentional of this underlying principle of your life, you will certainly start to feel the difference in your enthusiasm for life as a whole. If you realize that you love being amidst nature, plan out your holiday. Maybe an outing with your children could be enough to recoup your energy. If you discover that you enjoy helping those in need, start to look for opportunities to volunteer in your community. On the other hand, you might even want to change your job or start a new business that is more in line with your mission.
So there you have it!
By following along with the steps outlined above, you will be on your way to finding and living out your purpose. And, as you go through this process.
Just remember, “You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.” - Steve Maraboli
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