If you are a procrastinator… I’m sure you would love to break your procrastinator identity.

BUT the challenge is… it has become so ingrained in you that it is automatic.

In order to break this identity, begin right now by saying, “I procrastinate in isolated areas that I perceive pain or rebel. I am not a procrastinator. I have started the process of becoming a recovering procrastinator.”

If you say to yourself, “Oh, this always happens,” then it becomes a certainty. Certainty is a belief, which then becomes an expectation. If you allow your expectations to define you, they will either liberate you or intoxicate you.

Case in point…

If you are very good at attracting money, and you expect to attract money, there’s a high probability that you will attract money, especially if you have had success in doing that. And if you have become a money magnet, there’s a high probability that people will show up to reinforce your feelings.

You see… you attract to your reality situations and people that fulfill a biochemical craving you are addicted to.

What does that mean?

Telepathically and emotionally, you send a set of signals based on what you’re thinking and/or feeling. If the feelings you are sending come from low self-esteem…

…OR you have been abandoned and neglected, you’ve been abused, you’ve been traumatized, you will attract the perpetrators and other types of people that you don’t want to show up. You will attract the kind of people who will bring conflict rather than collaboration.

Even though you would love to break your feelings of procrastination, doing this requires a whole new philosophy. If you just try to be positive, all you’re really doing is taking a spray can of motivation and coating your procrastinator rust.

To really change, you require transformation. On an emotional level, you learn to transform those feelings that create the very situation that hinders you. When procrastination becomes chronic, you are essentially running on autosuggestion. To break the procrastination habit, you begin by addressing the causes, not the effects.

Raising Your Consciousness Level

Here’s where I want you to start. Ask yourself what events began your procrastination habit?

Over time, the more you understand why you do what you do, the more awareness you develop. The word “awareness” is synonymous with consciousness. Raising your level of awareness raises your level of consciousness, your level of energy, and the level of how you feel about yourself.

Here is what you require… self-love! And no one will give it to you because it is permission based. And the only person who can give you permission is you.

What you require is self-esteem, not self-confidence.

Confidence is how you feel about something. Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself. The real question is, “What do you do while you’re living? Who are you? And what are you becoming?” You want to be able to live your life as a vocation.

For most people, the ultimate desire is owning a life that does not own them. Your most valuable commodity is time, but if procrastination is the thief of your time, then what you have is a developing situation!

And that developing situation will create another situation… NFL. No friends left, no funds left, and not for long. That is what happens to a large percentage of the population. They have an intention, but an intention is not the same as a commitment or a decision. Once someone follows through on a true commitment, they can create any result they truly desire. But the downfall for many people is that they just take on more businesses, more obligations, and more situations. They get overwhelmed and they procrastinate.

Let’s Get Realistic

What’s the solution?

The solution is to create clearly defined goals.  Not overwhelming, overstated goals that cause you to procrastinate before you even start.

I asked one of my clients recently, “How much income do you desire to achieve from the comfort of your home during this calendar year?”

He replied, “Well, let’s shoot for 200,000.”

I said, “Let’s not.”

I continued, “Let’s get realistic. Do you have a $200,000-a-year habit?”

“Do I have a $200,000-a-year habit?”

“You are repeating my question.”

“What was your question?”

This is a perfect example of someone who is “lost in his sauce.” He’s someone I really care about, but he created a goal that was so big that he couldn’t possibly begin to achieve it. He had no idea what I meant when I said, “Do you have a $200,000-a-year habit?”

When you become clear and concise in your words and your language, you will begin to exude a sense of silent power. This is known as emotional, etheric energy or charisma. Others sense when this type of energy permeates you. It’s your juice, your drive. It’s the inspiration that will carry you through obstacles, challenges, and entrepreneurial seizure.

So… Just Do It

My advice to procrastinators is to follow Nike’s simple, effective advice: “Just do it.”

Procrastination is more than a time-management issue. As you may have discovered when you’ve attempted to reduce procrastination, improved time-management techniques typically prove ineffective.

Why?

Because you can’t manage time. Time is much more about managing yourself daily than arbitrarily managing a clock.

Procrastination, Indecision, and Disappointment

Procrastination is not the same as indecision.

While indecision implies the inability to decide, procrastination occurs when a person creates a decision but does not follow through with it. It is possible to procrastinate during the decision-making process. However, this type of procrastination is not seen much differently from other postponed tasks.

Procrastination is a complex behavior composed of logical, emotional, and behavioral components. Procrastination is the tendency to postpone or avoid reaching a described goal, with the subconscious intention of remaining disappointed. Of course, that’s also the definition of insanity… doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.

It’s a hard pill to swallow when you realize that you’re addicted to disappointment.

You have good intentions, but you have no decision, no commitment, and so you end up disappointed.

Goals are personal, and they are a lot are like beauty… they are held in the eye of the beholder. What seems like a worthy goal to you might not have the same priority for someone else. However, when a task has value to you, but your behavior does not follow through with action to complete the task, procrastination is occurring.

Procrastination also occurs when small steps are not taken to achieve important, long-term goals. This illustrates again why so many people set lofty, colossal goals that are not achievable, thus creating an excuse to procrastinate, feel bad, and remain disappointed.

Overcoming Procrastination One Day at a Time

Procrastination is a tendency to avoid commitment, decision creation, discomfort, pain, failure, and, most of all, success.

Deadlines get missed.

Late fees build up.

Commitments are avoided.

Family and friends get upset.

Disappointment and resentment builds.

Guilt and shame mount, and what were once good intentions become a source of disappointment. Does this sound familiar?

Procrastination occurs when there is no real passion to action. It is difficult to assess why any of us procrastinate because of the self-defeating nature of the outcome. It is irrational not to desire change in the areas of our lives that do not serve us.

Procrastination is perpetuated by good intentions combined with bad habits.

Overcoming procrastination is like addressing any addiction. It is accomplished one day at a time. You commit to change one day at a time, to let go one day at a time. You teach yourself to let go of feelings, events, people, violations, abandonment, situations, and rejection. It can take one day, one block of time, one hour… whatever is required for you to release the feelings that create the cause.

Remember, it’s the cause that creates the effect. When you begin to address the cause, letting go of procrastination opens up a whole new awareness for you. It’s whatever causes procrastination in the first place that keeps you doing the same thing over and over, always expecting a different result.

Overcoming procrastination becomes easier when the cause is identified and new systems are implemented to begin changing one day at a time. The action must follow the plan, or all you have accomplished is establishing another situation for procrastination.

Life imitates business, and business imitates life. If you have bad habits in your life, those habits, unfortunately, will follow you into all of your other endeavors.

But don’t despair.

Every single one of us has the ability to transform rapidly. Procrastination occurs when small steps toward larger goals are avoided. Procrastination is neutralized when small steps are consistently implemented.

And they are implemented with a greater purpose in mind and a clear, manageable, attainable goal as the desired outcome.