How to Overcome Procrastination
- Using the Law of Attraction!
"Procrastination is opportunity's
assassin."
~ Victor Kiam, American businessman, Remington Electric
Razors (1926-2001)
"Oh, how I wish I could overcome
procrastination! Somebody please help me stop procrastinating!
But not today, I'm busy."
Procrastination is a double-edged habit.
It deserves our attention as well as our appreciation.
The guilt we feel indicates that our procrastination
serves as the destroyer of dreams. However, when inspired
by our connection to our values it also serves as
the protector against wasted energy and futile activities.
Regardless of the type of procrastination,
it's important to forgive yourself for doing the best
you could do, given who you are and what you've learned
up until this point. You are a Divine Child of God
and the Truth is that it's possible that your sensible
delays were inspired according to your Divine path.
On the other hand, feeling frustrated
because your lack of action has postponed your good,
is a message from your higher self that what you want
requires your attention and you're not currently in
alignment with its effortless fulfillment.
Let me clarify the distinction between
when we can appreciate our procrastination and when
we should instead kick ourselves out of lethargy.
Once upon a time, I was stuck at the
Los Angeles airport with no money for my cab or shuttle
ride home to Newport Beach, about 50 miles South on
Pacific Coast Highway. I knew I had to get home and
I had neglected (procrastinated) to call friends to
arrange a ride. Then, when my flight arrived, I was
really ready to get home but for some reason I sort
of meandered through the airport a bit aimlessly.
I admit that because I didn't have the
money for the fare, I procrastinated finding a ride
for fear of having to ride-and-run, known in other
circles as dine-and-dash!
I picked up my luggage, went to the
gift shop, grabbed a bag of chips and truly walked
around aimlessly for an indefinite amount of time.
Eventually, reality sunk in. I had to get home and
even though I didn't have the money, I had to take
the shuttle.
My heart raced and my stomach ached
thinking about how I would face the driver at my driveway.
What would they do? Would they call the cops? Would
they take a hot check so that I could cover it later?
I made a decision as I got on that shuttle
that would change my life forever. I decided to manifest
a miracle. I didn't know how but I knew enough about
the law of attraction to know that if I could put
my attention on what I wanted while handing it over
to God, that something would happen and I'd be alright.
I got on the shuttle, smiled and said
hello to the man and his daughter, the single woman,
and the cute elderly couple. I immediately began to
pray and apply my thoughts toward a magical solution
and most importantly, every time I felt fear, I handed
it over to God (the big U).
The father and daughter were the first
to exit, and I began to really be persistent with
'handing it over' as the fear came in waves. I began
to feel a sense of willingness to just handle whatever
happened and found myself inspired to talk with the
elderly couple. They were visiting from South Africa,
had a daughter my age, loved to travel and meet new
people. We laughed and continued to talk as I intermittently
remembered my dilemma and handed it over again and
again.
The next stop was to be the hotel of
my new friends but the gentleman told the driver to
take me home first as they were enjoying my company.
When we arrived, I turned to tell my new friends what
a pleasure it was to meet them and they were talking
to each other. He turned to me and said, "My
dear, we have enjoyed your company so much. Please
allow us to pay for your fare."
With tears of delight and gratitude,
what could I do but graciously accept?!
This was a turning point for me and
my ability to succeed as a conscious creator. My procrastination
in arranging a ride inspired my aimless wandering,
which in turn was actually inspired by my higher intentions
to succeed in truly understanding the law of attraction.
I was inspired to procrastinate so that I would show
up at the right time, in the right pick-up zone to
meet my new friends and manifest a mini-miracle.
This is inspired procrastination. Honor
the truth that sometimes there is a higher purpose
for Divinely Ordered procrastination. If you are running
behind schedule, you miss your exit, you meander aimlessly,
etc. allow yourself the flexibility to accept that
somehow this too is perfect and in alignment with
what you really want.
On the other, deadly edge of the procrastinator's
sword is the fear based procrastination that will
inevitably delay and destroy your dreams.
The following tools may be used to overcome
this type of procrastination. You want to set yourself
up for success by inspiring inspiration. Yes, using
the law of attraction, you can actually inspire and
aligned action.
If you postpone making the number of
cold-calls necessary to succeed in your business,
then you are procrastinating out of fear of success,
fear of rejection, or fear of failure, for example.
If you postpone working out and eating
right, then you may be procrastinating out of a sense
of futility, a feeling of worthlessness, or a fear
of deprivation.
If you feel guilt when you look at your
procrastination tactics, then you are being called
to move towards inspired action from your higher self.
To overcome procrastination here
are a few practical tips:
1 - Write it down! Write everything
that you must/could/should/want to do on paper; write
out your high-level goals, the mini-milestones, the
tasks involved, and the decisions that must be made
to accomplish your goals. Then, prioritize and write
down your reasons and your rewards. If it's too big
a task, then spend just 10 minutes at a time until
it's done.
2 - Chunk it down! We procrastinate
eating the Elephant because it's such a huge undertaking!
Break it down into bite-sized morsels (on paper) and
ask yourself what is ONE thing I can do today or right
now.
3 - Use a timer set for 15 minutes.
You have 15 minutes to do ONE thing on your list -
pick it and do it. If you are inspired to do more,
great keep going. If not, that's okay too!
4 - Just put on your shoes! Whatever
goal you have in mind starts with the first inspired
action. If you want to run 6 miles, it begins with
simply putting on your running shoes; nothing more,
nothing less. When you are procrastinating - simply
ask yourself what's the first task? Take action on
the smallest incremental item on that task. You'll
be amazed at how quickly you will be inspired to run
once your running shoes are on.
5 - Reward yourself - when you accomplish
each project as well as each milestone.
6 - Be human and give up perfectionism!
Do it imperfect on purpose. If you procrastinate for
fear of it being imperfect, get over it. An action
performed imperfectly is superior to inaction performed
perfectly.
To overcome procrastination using the
law of attraction, use both the law of attraction
and Emotional Freedom Technique.
First, launch a living vision that paves
the way for inspired action then upon awareness of
doubts/fears use Emotional Freedom Technique to eliminate
the blocks.
A - Inspire Inspiration with a Living
Vision
Launch a living vision that addresses
inspired, daily action. This is a one minute exercise
that will change your life forever. If you will simply
imagine yourself 'enjoying the act of taking daily
consistent action towards your goal' in a consistent,
daily living vision, eventually you will be inspired
to do what you are imagining.
Launching a Living Vision that you are
taking daily, inspired action is a "No Fail"
method! You will find yourself inspired with a passionate,
connected sense of certainty and eagerness and you
won't be able to stop yourself from taking action.
It will work in one way or another every time.
For example:
If you want to be a prolific writer
but you procrastinate or feel that you have writer's
block, then launch the following living vision every
day for 7 - 21 days and record what happens:
"Yes! I am so enthusiastic about
how easy it is for me to write every day. It's like
the words just flow and most of the time I don't even
know where they are coming from. The characters inspire
me to new heights and the storyline comes out of left
field, jumping onto the computer screen with profound
clarity and conviction. You know, I'm so grateful
that it's always been this easy for me. I have always
been able to simply sit down and allow the words to
flow. I have to admit that I am a prolific writer
and it's always been easy for me."
If you want to start exercising or be
more consistent with your exercise routine, then launch
the following living vision every day for 7 to 21
days and see what happens:
"I love exercising and staying
focused on my goals. It's so easy for me to make this
a priority. I always seem to have the energy to work
out, not matter what time of the day it is. I also
always seem to have the time as my life simply supports
me in achieving my ideal health and fitness. I know
others say they don't have the energy or time, and
I just can't even imagine this being the case for
me! I simply feel inspired to work-out regularly and
the time happens easily as does having the energy
within to accomplish my goals. There's something magical
that happens when I put on my work-out gear or my
gym shoes, it's like the angels practically carry
me through my routine as soon as the gear touches
my body. I simply put on my gear and I'm destined
to a fabulous work-out that I absolutely love. And,
I love the way I look and feel. I love and enjoy my
body!"
Launch your own living visions to inspire
inspiration and action. Allow your living vision to
be a breathing, flowing, ever-evolving masterpiece
of the activities that you want and desire.
B - Use Emotional Freedom Technique
to overcome procrastination.
Formulate your own using the following
Emotional Freedom Technique set-up phrases and positive
implanting statements as prompts.
* Even though I procrastinate, I choose
to love and accept myself anyway.
* Even though I am a habitual procrastinator, I lovingly
support myself in taking inspired action.
* Even though I sabotage my success by procrastinating,
never the less, I am pleasantly surprised at how easy
it is for me to take action from this point forward.
* Even though I am afraid of success and therefore
I procrastinate, never the less, I see myself easily
taking inspired, consistent action.
* Even though I put off doing what I know must be
done, I love, accept and forgive myself. And, I choose
to easily take inspired, daily, consistent action.
* Even though I can't seem to stop procrastinating,
never the less, I am so passionate excited that I
am reliable and unswerving in my commitment to take
action.
* Even though I hate the fact that I keep procrastinating
and I don't know how to stop, never the less, I find
myself easily focusing on the completion of small
steps every day.
* Even though I feel terribly guilty for being such
a procrastinator, I easily choose to chunk my projects
down and just begin it now!
The law of attraction is our ally in
manifesting success and prosperity as well as the
little things that we want in life, such as successfuly
defeating procrastination. Remember that it's important
to use your attention to manifest your big dreams
as well as your daily desires.
Receive Anisa's FREE Conscious Creation 101: a 5-part
e-course on the basics of Manifesting by visiting http://www.creatavision.com/creative-manifesting.htm.
Read more about manifesting and conscious creation by
visiting http://www.CreataVision.com and http://www.ManifestingProsperity.com.
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