In the News

South China Morning Post
Saturday 29th August 2009

Signposts: Get on with It

How often do you hesitate to start work on something if you think you can’t do it? How much do you put off crucial decisions because you are unable to make up your mind? How much can you count on yourself to finish a task that you’ve started? How many projects do you have at this moment that are still undone? How much do you avoid having that challenging conversation with your boss, friend, spouse? Are you waiting to be inspired?

For some, procrastination is simply the way they function best – they work well under pressure. For many others, procrastination is a symptom of fear.

Danny is afraid to be seen to be stupid – he needs to be an expert and has to be right. He is a big talker and great researcher. He has to be good at something before he ever makes a start. Jenny is afraid to be seen as incompetent, quality and closure are important to her, and until she buys into knowing she can do it perfectly she never commits to any job. Claire doesn’t like the mundane; she gets easily bored, hates routine and doesn’t like to follow the rules. She wants life to be easy; she rarely gets projects off the ground. She is driven by a need to feel special and feels frustrated that she can never meet her potential. She fears being ordinary.

Many of us are afraid of failure, afraid of doing it wrong, afraid of making a mistake.  What we don’t realise is that success is in the attempt rather than the conclusion. If you think that you won’t do a job well, how easy is it to panic and tell yourself you can’t do it?  In fact, we only fail if we quit.

When I was preparing for my first Fearless Living speaking engagement, I was great at doing my research and getting my materials organised. When it came to practising my delivery, I did everything to avoid getting started – even to the point of doing housework that didn’t need doing!

What do you do to avoid taking action? Do you overeat, shop till you drop, surf the internet until 2 am, watch TV all day, sleep too much? Do you become a workaholic, drink or exercise too much, or endlessly daydream? Are you at all slippery….do you say “I don’t know’ when you do know? What excuses do you use? Time, money, stress, too tired, can’t do it, past failures?

What can you do to shift from that place of procrastination? First become aware of your ways of avoiding and your excuses. Awareness will always give you choice. Then, if you are willing to be responsible for creating the life you want, you need to get clear on your priorities, let go of your excuses and take action. Do the tasks you don’t want to do. When you know what matters to you, when you feel passionate about what you do, action comes easily.

How accountable are you to yourself? Many people have a hard time with accountability. The reasons are varied – often they include time challenges, confusion over priorities, discipline, lack of self-belief. And it can be easier to be accountable to others than to self. Yet, when we learn to be accountable to ourselves, discipline is no longer a nasty word. Where are you on the ladder of commitment? Do you say – whatever; I’ll try; I’ll do it when….; I’ll do my best; or I’ll do whatever it takes?

Practically what can you do?

• Commit 100%  - one step at a time. Simply doing, taking a risk, builds confidence.
• Replace the idea of ‘perfect’ with ‘practise’.
• Become aware of any negative self-talk and counter with positive statements.
• If you think you can’t do it, act as if you can.
• Take improv classes to practise taking action in the moment rather than wait for the ideal moment. Make mistakes and have fun!
• If you are putting off a decision, ask your intuition what to do – then go for it!
• If you are waiting for inspiration, take action first. You’ll never write a book until you write that first page.
• If routine is a challenge, create structure.
• Be consistent, no cutting corners.
• Celebrate your accomplishments.
• When your fear says wait, jump right in!

Believe in yourself, you’re already brilliant!

 

Glynis Ferguson is founder of Freedom from Fear Coaching™ and a member of the Hong Kong International Coaching Community

 

Copyright 2010 Glynis Ferguson