“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.” Shannon L. Alder
Sometimes we think we’re being lazy, and that laziness is the reason for putting off doing things we know we need to get to. As kids, if we were sitting on the couch whilst adults were doing chores, it was common for us to be told to stop being lazy and get off our backsides and help. Or perhaps we remember being told not to rest on our laurels and get on with something else.
Western culture has not always known the value of active rest, nor set healthy expectations for it.
There has been a growing culture of busyness that has only accelerated in the last decade, and after global lockdowns, overcoming procrastination seems to have been a hot topic of discussion. But through this all, we are only seeing our family, colleagues and clients working harder than ever to create and sustain their lifestyles.
With digital communication and a new culture of instant engagement, we seldom have the space to process and be present for each task that we need to complete in our day. From running our homes to running our businesses and showing up in our social lives.
If you’ve ever started your day, or reached a point later in the day, when you don’t know what to do next but know that you have plenty to do, you’re not alone. Maybe, it’s not laziness or procrastination; maybe those are just the words that were conditioned into us and perhaps we need some better words so that we can articulate what’s really going on.
When there is pressure to perform, it’s easy for us to feel inadequate. It’s not that we’re procrastinating or lazy, it’s that we have been led to believe that who we are or what we have is not enough for the task at hand. This, coupled with perfectionism or a fear of getting things wrong, can all stifle our progress and ability to push on to the next task.
Other times we may feel like we’re stretched to thin and our low energy is holding us back from starting something new. The next time you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself: “Why am I so stressed about taking the next step? What’s holding me back from stepping out of my comfort zone?”
If we want to be wealthy in all areas of life, and live in our wealthspace, we need to be able to overcome the battle in our mind that is filled with messages telling us that we’re being lazy and unproductive. We can replace those messages with more positive and active phrases like: “I’m going to do this for five minutes, and then I can stop.” We can identify small manageable steps to get started, and instead of fearing failure, we can create an expectation of success.
When we can start to understand why we feel like we’re being lazy, we can turn it around and create a conversation with ourselves that sparks excitement, energy and enthusiasm!