More people get hung up on implementing their strategy than at any other stage in changing directions. It’s the moment of truth, the point at which we move past talking and planning into actually doing.  We should be able to move ahead when we have a clear direction, but sometimes our progress gets blocked.

Common Blocks to Change

Here are the top most common blocks to change: 

• Fear – can you commit with confidence to making the changes you want?
• Money – do you have the financial resources to support yourself while you make changes?
• Being overwhelmed – can you organize, coordinate and manage the many elements of your daily life along with changes in your life?
• Self- Doubt – do you believe you can maintain a confident, positive attitude?
• Time –do you have the time to devote to the activities you need to undertake to effect change?
• Energy – do you have the energy to carry on and institute the changes you want make?
• Confusion – do you have a clear vision as to where you want to go next?
• Discounting – are you able to remove negative and harmful elements from your life that take you off track?
• Support – do you have the support of family, friends and colleagues?

These blocks plague us all from time to time and can usually be overcome. But for some they become major blocks to action.

Procrastination

Often procrastination is one of the underlying causes that turn common problems into major roadblocks. We put off taking action on what we know we want do, but usually we don’t know why we keep procrastinating. To get past our inaction, we have to track down the cause. Here are some typical reasons people procrastinate:

• Fear – whether it’s fear of success, failure, or change, when we’re afraid to act, we procrastinate. Determining if the fear is realistic, and how we could handle things if our worst fears came true, can free us to take action.
• Perfectionism – if our standards are unrealistic, we are likely to put off what we doubt can be accomplished. Think performance, not perfection and set reasonable standards.
• Overwhelming Tasks – we need to break our goals down into shorter milestones that we can carry out successfully.
• Unpleasant Tasks – change takes effort and sometimes that effort involves doing things we don’t enjoy.  We have to focus on the outcome and how good we’re going to feel once we’ve made the changes that we’re seeking.
• Creating Pressure to Perform – some people are motivated by crisis and pressure and procrastinate until the last minute. Motivating ourselves to meet mini-deadlines at a reasonable pace is far less stressful than doing it all in one last-ditch effort.
• Waiting for the right moment – usually there is no “right moment.” If we tell ourselves we can’t get started until something else has happened, it probably won’t happen. Now is not only the right moment, it’s the only moment. Tomorrow has a way of never coming, so we must start today.
• A Red Flag – sometimes procrastination is a signal that what we thought we wanted to do is not the right thing to do after all. We may need to reassess our plans.

Is procrastination holding you back?  If you are avoiding important tasks, identify what you’re doing instead, and cut off your escape routes so you can discover why you’re stuck and get your show on the road.

If you think we can help, we offer counseling.

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