The Procrastination Cure: How to Stop Over-thinking

'We can't all, and some of us don't. That's all there is to it.'  Winnie the Pooh 

 

Curing a Bad Case of Over-thinking

Okay, come clean. What's the thing you've been thinking you need to do you just haven't gotten around to doing?

Come on, you know what it is! It's the very thing that if you did it you could finally relax and feel good about just taking care of it.  It's that thing your mind has been working on overtime--over-thinking it or avoiding thinking about it. Either way the results are the same: You're left feeling antsy about something hanging over you.

The Anticipation is Killing Me!

The thing is, you know there is something on your mind that continues to show up for brief visits every morning, weekend or evening before it disappears as you return to your work, or other such distractions. And you also know, until you take care of it, it will continue to irritate you.

Years ago a cartoon featured the lovable cat, Garfield, considering the task of getting out to exercise. He thinks, "I probably should get up and exercise, but my feet will start to hurt and my heart will pound. I'll get out of breath, start to sweat, and I won't be able to make it back home. Exercise isn't so bad," he says, "But the anticipation is killing me!"

Like Garfield, the thing you need to do probably isn't so bad, but the anticipation is killing you! 

'The problem is that small first step could potentially have a large impact on your life so you over-think it. The anticipation leads to procrastination, killing your motivation to take a step.'

Begin Simply, and Simply Begin

To overcome the inertia to taking the first step, begin simply, and simply begin! Consider Mark Twain's philosophy:

'Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.'

Brian Tracy in his book, 'Eat That Frog!', plays off Twain's quirky quip to create 21 ways to stop procrastinating. Tracy equates your 'frog' to your biggest, most important task, the one likeliest to have the greatest positive impact on your life---yes, the very THING we've been talking about!

Tracy goes on to lay down the first two rules of 'frog eating' :

'If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.'

'If you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn't pay to sit and look at it for very long.'

To Cure Procrastination: Apply the Rule of Frog

Basically, the rule of frog says stop anticipating, and start each day by doing the most important thing that needs doing before you do anything else. Don't sit around thinking about taking that first bite of frog. Bite into the hardest, ugliest task you've been avoiding first thing in the morning -- and do it every morning. 

Leap Frog Your Way to a Satisfying, Productive Life

Begin simply: make a short list of 'frogs'. Then simply begin to jump through those self-imposed hoops, leap frogging your way each and every morning to a more satisfying and productive life.

And don't leap over the obvious---sometimes the thing you're avoiding doing is NOTHING! Sometimes when you're life has been filled with hyperactivity doing nothing is the most difficult activity of all.

Why wait to get started? Jump in NOW. 

Frogs to Eat First Thing in the Morning
Make a list of your frogs. Choose an ugly one.

Don't miss these ugly frogs:

• Taking time just for you.
• Practice the 'DO NOTHING' exercise.

Putting your self-care first can be a very ugly frog:

• Make that phone call
• Organize your office or home
• Start that school application
• Ask for Help
• Organize your taxes
• Make that doctor appointment 
• Start a letter to that person in need
• Start contributing  or increase the amount contributed to your retirement savings account.
• Exercise
• Find a new job
• Research colleges
• Make contact with a good friend

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, sign up for free e-mail subscription.

Never Try to Teach a Pig to Sing

Ducunt fata volentem, nolentem trahunt
The Fates guide those who go willingly. All others they drag.

Are You Trying to Teach a Pig to Sing?

It's a drag--that person who does things so differently from you really irritates and annoys you. So you take it upon yourself to fix him and show him how to do it your way--the right way. It works, right? Wrong.

Just as Rocky said to Bullwinkle (at the beginning of each cartoon when Bullwinkle said 'watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat'):

"That trick never works."

That trick doesn't even work if you attempt to fix yourself so you can fit your square or squiggly self into that round hole to please others.



 Stop wasting your time trying to make you or others into something you're not. As Robert Heinlein said:

 "Never try to teach a pig how to sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig."

Does this mean people can't grow and change? No. It means there are many ways to accomplish things and we need to accept the differing gifts in ourselves and others with grace, compassion, and understanding. A pig can easily learn how to hunt for truffles but try as they might--they can't learn to sing.

It never works to attempt to make people over to be like you. It always works to encourage others become their own best selves.

"Never try to teach a pig how to sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig," means we need to accept the realities of life. You can't make a pig sing no matter how hard you try--and no matter how annoyed the pig gets.

So the next time you try to take on another person as your make-over project, know 'that  little piggy' doesn't want to learn how to sing your tune or dance in step with your timing--so stop wasting your time and annoying her!  Let her learn her own dance and tune.



Stop Wasting Your Time and Annoying Others

We all have 100% natural, healthy, effective ways we prefer to deal with the world around us--and all of them are perfectly sound ways to get things done. You can stop wasting your time and annoying others by acknowledging these differences and learning how to make a constructive use of them.

• Where in your life are you trying to teach a pig to sing?
• Who are you annoying most--you or another person?
• Do you want to continue wasting your time or being annoyed?
• Are the Fates guiding you? Or are you being dragged to the obvious conclusions?

I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.Winston Churchill

**A special thank you to Vicki Brown, a member of Linkedin MBTI discussion group for sharing "Ducunt fata volentem, nolentem trahunt"




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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.


If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Feeling Stressed and Overwhelmed about your Future? Ease your Mind and Take Positive Action

'A good part of courage is just being sick and tired.'  Robert Brault

Times of Transition are Unsettling 

No matter who we are, or what life changes we're experiencing, times of transition are unsettling and disruptive--leading us to initially freeze up, and temporarily suspending us in a frozen state of inertia as we try to figure things out in our heads.

Sometimes change is thrust upon us, and sometimes we gain the courage to step into the unknown because 'we're just sick and tired' of the current conditions.

What makes us tense in transitions is our focus on the future. We fear what won't happen that we want to have happen, or we fear what will happen that we don't want to happen. So we do nothing at all.

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons. Ruth Ann Schabacker

Change from Future Tense to Present Ease

How do we ease our minds and begin the journey back to taking positive actions to lead us forward to the next stage of a fully-engaged and worthy life? 

When you feel overwhelmed and stuck in 'future tense', stop, take a breath, and ease back into the present. Get off the worry track. Take a day off from thinking about 'your situation', and engage in activities that let you know you are glad to be alive.

• Go out and spend time with people you are happy to have in your life NOW to laugh and celebrate your friendship. 
• Take a walk on a favorite trail.
• Take a book to read in a favorite spot.
• Visit your favorite coffee house to sip a cuppa and people-watch.

Sometimes we just need to remember--life is to be enjoyed. Instead of letting your life be determined by fear and worry--focus on putting memorable activities into your life each day. 

'To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.'   William James

'We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.' Japanese Proverb

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.


If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, sign up for free e-mail subscription.