Do you remember slow bicycle races at school fetes where the challenge was to traverse 100 metres as slowly as possible without falling over. I hated them as much as they thrilled me in a masochistic way. Trying to stand still has never been my strength but that tension between movement and balance is a kind of perverse pleasure. You had to move forward to maintain your balance but to win you had to do it as slowly as possible. Wobbling was the danger zone. You knew you had to move or fall. I never won.
Procrastinating delivers the same pain/pleasure continuum. In the end it’ll topple you. Do you know when you are in the danger zone?
Not moving forward creates frustration, analysis paralysis and can even throw you into depression.Any decision you act on will move you forward. But you must take the action to know if it’s moving you in the direction you want to go Click To Tweet
If you don’t like the outcome You can make another decision, (this time with more information)
Life is not one big decision, neither is business or a project or even making dinner. It is a marathon of constant small decisions followed by committed actions. Yogi Bhajan said any decision can be made in 8 seconds. Imagine the amount of time and energy that would free up.
Decide. Act. Reflect. Refine. Act. Reflect. Keep moving or make another decision.
That efficiency requires a deep inner trust which is worth cultivating on this adventure we call life and you wouldn’t be reading this if you completely trusted yourself. That kind of trust is as rare as hen’s teeth and while you might have it in one area. It’s unlikely you trust yourself in every part of your life. So here’s a few pointers I use when I get stuck?
Make sure to write these down. Doing this in your head won’t be nearly as effective. Get detailed and specific. Why are you stuck? What’s the worst thing that could happen if you decide and act and why is that so bad? (hint fear of failure/success and likely what others will think )
If it’s a values based decision, Is it in alignment with your core values? If it’s not values based then ask what’s the priority right now and will this move me closer to it? Is your procrastination driven by fear or intuition? Is this the question you need to be asking right now? If not what is your priority right now and what is the right question? By now you likely have a clearer picture.
‘Good’ decisions come from balanced information.
Writing pros vs cons brings the decision into clarity and focus. It allows you to come out of negative or positive mind into your objective or neutral mind and the direction can be really clear when you see it in black and white in front of you. Here’s a meditation that will get you out of your funk and bring you into your neutral mind in just 3 minutes
Always ask you heart and trust your gut or as Alexandra Franzen calls it your ‘hut’ You body never lies.