Here’s a question for you: How do we stop the business of putting stuff off?

The failure rate of most New Year’s resolutions is about 80% by mid-February. Will and determination is are not enough. There is hope, if we understand where procrastination actually comes from.

Today on Indy Style, Neal Phalora, TheBrainWarrior: Brain and Mindset Coach, shares some insight:

1. It is not a flaw in your character.
   It is not that you are lazy or unmotivated. Procrastination is about managing challenging emotions such as boredom, frustration, or self-doubt. You being a drill Sargent in front of your mirror is not the answer. Productivity app and motivation mantras only work after you fix the problem with your engine running on blame. Very few people have succeed by being disciplined “self-blamers.”
2. It’s a cycle of feeling better, then worse.
   We cycle because we get short term emotional relief by putting off something. That is our reward. But to get another reward, we must do it again! Break the cycle by focusing on forgiveness instead. So when you are looking for workout gear on amazon instead working out, forgive yourself.
3. Build awareness by being curious?
   When feeling tempted to put off a task, take a moment to think about your thinking. What are you feeling and why? Write these down. This awareness will help you catch the cycle more quickly. The point is when you are checking Instagram instead of cooking the healthy meals you committed to…you are avoiding feeling an emotion. Experiencing the emotion will break the cycle.
4. Make barriers to your temptations.
   Delete apps that you are tempted to check. Put a note on the fridge. Make yourself an intervention video. Use the words “I don’t” instead of “I can’t.” I don’t eat dessert is choice. I can’t eat dessert is restriction.
5. Eat your elephant in bite-sized pieces.
   Because there is a huge emotional component to getting things done… we get overwhelmed. Emotionally hijacked, we see our task at hand as too daunting. Put one foot in front of the other. Instead of trying find the motivation, let action lead motivation. Unfortunately, social media sets expectations that you can be different overnight. Being successful is being realistic what can be done today, and celebrating that progress.

   To learn more, visit www.TheBrainWarrior.com.