Procrastinating until someday is like waiting for the eighth day of the week; neither ever comes and nothing ever changes. At some point, you go from saying it emphatically, “Someday, I’ll…!” to saying it wistfully, to saying it with a heavy sigh and a touch of resentment because you now see dreaming of someday is like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
The problem isn’t that a cruel joke has been played on you, like Lucy yanking the football out from Charlie Brown just before he kicks it. The problem is YOU procrastinate on YOUR big “someday dream” and make excuses why you can’t move toward it. Ouch, sorry.
(Try this: every time you say you “can’t do something”, try substituting the word “won’t” for “can’t” and see which statement is REALLY true.) ?
Why do you procrastinate?
There are several reasons why you may procrastinate until someday.
One of the main reasons is the fear of failure. If you don’t dream, you can’t fail. You think of all kinds of excuses why you can’t pursue YOUR dream and often blame it on others. It’s a way of protecting yourself by not taking action.
Another common reason is a lack of motivation. You may feel tired, overwhelmed, or uninspired. When you lose the “why” of what matters, you give in to defeat. Sometimes it sounds like, “it’s too late for me to start over”, or “I’ve missed my chance” or “I don’t have anything to give that anyone else would want or need…”.
Or, maybe you procrastinate to move toward your someday because you struggle with perfectionism. A perfectionist procrastinates because you want everything to be just right. You may wait until you have all the information, tools, and resources you need to move toward your dream, perfectly. However, this prevents you from taking action.
Finally, we can’t dismiss the endless distractions that can keep you from starting your quest to your someday. Social media, email, and demands from others can pull your attention away from what you need to do, making it easy to put things off.
Understanding why we procrastinate can help us take steps to overcome it and start taking action on the things that matter most to us.
When you know the reason(s) WHY you procrastinate, you can take steps to overcome it and take action on what matters to you.
If you don’t even know how to dream your “someday dream” anymore; check out my blog post:
To overcome a fear of failure, focus on your WHY? vs. HOW? You get to define your why so there is no standard of comparison. There is no pass/ fail. As long as you are pursuing what is important to you and why it matters its impossible to get it wrong.
Overwhelm is simply not knowing where to start. If you are suffering from a lack of motivation, spend time working on your vision for your future. What do you love, what are you great at, and what brings you joy? What makes you scream, “someone needs to do something about this!”. There is your sweet spot.
Are you stopped in your tracks by perfectionism? Start with the hard work of identifying the fear behind your unwillingness to be imperfect. Then, focus on progress over production. Today, you are further ahead than yesterday. Success!
Do you know what distracts you? Pick a few days this week and make a list of what you did every hour in two columns: what I planned to do vs. what I actually did. Go back to your list and highlight with colors:
- Color 1: What was in my control (ie: I had a choice)
- Color 2: What was out of my control (be honest!)
- Color 3. What was for me
- Color 4. What was for someone else
Evaluate your distractions and make an action plan.
What do you wish you could go back and tell yourself 10 years ago about your “someday dream”.
Do you want to be wishing the same thing 10 years from now?
We all procrastinate from time to time and a daydream about our big “SOMEDAY” in the midst of reality is not bad. But when your nudge toward that someday for you will not go away and it lines up with your gifts, talents, and desires- you have an obligation to yourself and others to go for it.
You were meant to make a difference in your world- to take on new territory- and to use your spendable wisdom to bless others. What are you waiting for?
If you need some guidance on how to start on your BIG DREAM and not wait until someday- download my FREE GUIDE here:
What is your procrastination default? Comment below: ?
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