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The #1 Reason Why We Procrastinate

IMPOSTER SYNDROME, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, PODCAST EPISODE

June 8, 2020

TUNE IN

Have you ever wondered why we procrastinate?

We all fall victim to procrastination, especially as aspiring entrepreneurs.

This means that it is SO important that we understand the root cause of procrastination, so we don’t let it stop us from starting our business.

So I’m going to drop this big ole truth bomb on you guys right now.

The #1 reason why we procrastinate is because of resistance.

Resistance is a level of that fear that sits within our subconscious.

Resistance, fear, and imposter syndrome are the best of friends. They are a trio that works hand in hand together to make sure you do everything BUT start the task that will move the needle in your life.

For example, when you say, “I am going to finalize my business idea but first I have to fold 3 loads of laundry.” That’s resistance.

When you say, “I’m going to write my first 3 blog posts but I better do it tomorrow because I have some other stuff to do today.” That’s resistance.

I was experiencing resistance right before recording the attached podcast episode. I had time blocked off in my calendar to record, but then I started cleaning the house like a maniac to avoid recording. It’s interesting how that happened because last time I recorded an episode, I totally got in my own way. I got in my head and had to record it over ten times. See how resistance works there?!

I started learning a lot about resistance when I read the book <a href="http://The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles“>“The War Of Art” (full transparency, this is an affiliate link!) by Steven Pressfield. It’s an awesome book for creatives because he takes a deep dive into what resistance is and why it affects us.

Here is what Steven says about specifically about resistance and why we procrastinate:

“Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize. We don’t tell ourselves “I’m never going to write my symphony.” Instead, we say, “I’m going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.”

Resistance knows EXACTLY who and what to latch onto and aspiring entrepreneurs are one if it’s favorite things to latch onto because resistance knows there are SO MANY fears that go into starting a business.

We tell ourselves:

I’m terrified of failing
I’m so scared of being judged
I don’t want to share my story on my Instagram because people from way back in middle school follow me and I don’t want them to think of me any differently.

And our subconscious latches onto that. It soaks up every single negative thing you tell yourself and regurgitates it back to you in a few different ways. Imposter syndrome, resistance, and procrastination are a few examples.

If we’re starting to think about a business idea, your subconscious rings on procrastination doors and tells it to start working it’s magic so you don’t start acting on your idea.

This is why it’s so incredibly important that we re-wire our subconscious thinking so we can defeat procrastination, we can overcome imposter syndrome and we break through our fears so we start that business and move in the needle one inch closer to where we want to be in life.

Now, instead of overwhelming you guys with a bunch of things to do to stop procrastination, I first want you to recognize when it’s happening to you.

Next time you find yourself procrastinating, I want you to label it and say “ok, this is resistance”.

Just like that. Pinpoint it.

We are going to save the tactical steps for another episode/blog post because those tactical steps aren’t going to work if we don’t first recognize when we are experiencing it.

Now I want you to ask yourself, are you going to let resistance win today, tomorrow, and every day for the rest of your life, or are you going to take control?