Then why aren’t you doing it? Yes, the moment of resistance. The knowledge that XYZ is the course of action, but the desire to procrastinate or not do it at all.
This is a common occurrence that business owners and leaders encounter. A problematic employee who needs a performance conversation (or worse!). A presentation to prospective clients that needs to be created or updated. The need to get follow up with important connections who could lead to additional clients, customers, or more business. And we resist. We procrastinate. We ignore the internal anxiety and put it off.
Here are some of the many things we know we need to do, but don’t:
- Eat healthier, but we love good food and want something sweet after dinner (Hey! I’m a workout addict, but I’m also a cookie addict!)
- Floss our teeth
- Read more, but who wouldn’t rather scroll other peoples’ drama on social media?!
- Doomscroll less, but the aforementioned drama sucks us in!
- When I was younger, I should’ve practiced piano technique exercises and scales, but I wanted to play Elton John music…
- Lose our temper so easily, but inefficiency and bad communication are our pet peeves
- Save more money, but I want that…
- Waste less time, but, hey…sometimes good ideas come from doing nothing!
- Stop waiting for the perfect conditions to start something, but we’re perfectionists
- Not have to have every one of something, but we’re “collectors”
On and on the list goes. We know what we should do, but something else pulls us, jerks us, into a “less than desirable” course of action. What’s the solution?
Define the outcome, define the simplest next physical visible action, and take that action.
There will still be the temptation to procrastinate or just do something else, but when our brains look at a list of actions that are truly the next, physical, visible actions, a part of even the laziest of us goes, “Oh, I can do that!” By the way, the next physical visible actions sounds like, “Call…”, “Text…”, “Email…”, “Go to…”, “Talk to…”
Outcome thinking and next action definition. These are two keys to increasing the chances that we actually take action, actually get started, then get motivated to continue, and eventually succeed.
Do what you need to today…we’re all feeling your challenges, and we’re all with you!
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