How many times? How many times are you going to hit the snooze on your life before you move forward? What are you waiting for? It’s easy to adopt Scarlett O’hara’s thought process: “I won’t think about that today, I’ll think about that tomorrow, after all, tomorrow’s another day.” Fear and self-doubt can play a big role in keeping you stuck only wishing and dreaming of a better day. Did you know you have the power to push forward? Unraveling the anxiety and getting to the sticking point might take some work but putting your dreams off until another day means you should have plenty of time. You take that end and I’ll take this one, let’s start unraveling.
Last week, as the alarm on my phone, was going off I noticed something. Some may say this is super convenient and proceed without a second thought but it hit me with a different message. Why was the snooze bigger than the stop on my alarm? Now, this may not ring true for all cell phones but I’m pretty sure the design has similarities in traditional alarm clocks as well. Right under the word Alarm…there it is, big, oblong, orange, and glowing …begging me to hit it. Stop is much, much smaller and all the way at the bottom of the screen. You have to really pry your eyes open and be intentional and accurate to hit it.
Why do you suppose that is? Why would my phone want me to delay the day and go back to sleep? Just being courteous? Or does it assume it will take more than one attempt to get me up? When oversleeping is the one thing that will keep people with an early flight from sleeping, why would they make SNOOZE so tempting and accessible?
How many times do you take the tempting and accessible alternative in life? Obviously, this show isn’t just about oversleeping, let’s look at how this idea translates into your own life.
Even though let me mention this; according to one survey, more than one in three adults press snooze three times before getting up in the morning. And more than half of adults in their twenties and early thirties say that they hit the snooze button every morning.
And while it’s not a huge deal to snag a few extra minutes of shut-eye once in a while, fighting your alarm on a regular basis might actually leave you feeling more tired during the day and sleep worse at night.
Ok now that we’ve cleared that up…let’s move on to the metaphorical snooze. The one you keep hitting instead of checking off milestones on your life plan.
Maybe you are overwhelmed with the sheer pressure of your day-to-day life and can’t find a moment to plan for your future goals or even know what those are. Even the thought of sitting down to figure all that out seems foreign. Is that you? Are you trying to manage everything for everyone and barely keeping it together?
Help is on its way….we will look at ways to prioritize and set goals that incorporate your vision while freeing you from the responsibility of keeping it all together.
Maybe you’re afraid, riddled with self-doubt. Unsure that what you want is even attainable. You’ve spent the better part of your life trying to get ahead but always being pushed to the back. How could you possibly spend time goal planning – It seems like such a waste of time? Time to hit the reset on those ideas. You deserve it ALL. Not a little bit, or some of it, but YOU deserve it all. Let’s find ways to calm your fears so that you can see your true potential.
Maybe you know exactly what you want and how to get there but for some reason, you’re stuck. You can’t move forward. Every day you start with good intentions but life sidetracks you or maybe it’s YOU getting in your own way but whatever the reason, 2 steps forward = 3 steps back. Let’s figure it out and pull out the stopper. You have amazing stuff to do and you are only a couple steps from making it happen.
The first thing we have to do is realize procrastination is not a time management issue so finding a new app to help you juggle your day is not going to help. It’s an emotional avoidance.
So what can you do? Even the most motivated person has something they procrastinate about. I KNOW I need to exercise. I know the health benefits, mentally and physically but it’s the thing I procrastinate about the most. My New Year’s resolution this year was to stop feeling guilty about things I didn’t want to do. Solution? NO – justification! I still feel guilty, even though I gave myself permission not to accept that feeling.
Why am I putting it off? It’s hard, I don’t enjoy it, it takes time away from other things I actually want to do… there are more reasons I’m sure.
Several studies show that self-compassion supports motivation and personal growth. Not only does it decrease psychological distress, which we now know is a primary culprit for procrastination, it also actively boosts motivation, enhances feelings of self-worth and fosters positive emotions like optimism, wisdom, curiosity and personal initiative. Best of all, self-compassion doesn’t require anything external — just a commitment to meeting your challenges with greater acceptance and kindness rather than rumination and regret.
So it sounds like I’m on the right track with my New Year’s resolution. However, forgiving myself is only the first step, I’m still not getting to the gym which is actually good for me. Oh, don’t tell my brain that all I have to do is to forgive myself for every thought and action I purposely put off. Ok, obviously that’s not what it’s saying but being kind to yourself and recognizing the struggle will help you work out a solution to move forward. That makes sense to me. As a person who typically sees things as black or white, yes or no, spending some time finding the solution and being kind to myself is something I can get behind.
Isn’t it comforting and inspiring to know you have so much control over your life? Just like you can get buried in negative habits that keep you spinning on a never-ending wheel to nowhere, you also have the power to create healthy habits that will help you realize your dreams. The point is, you have the power. These aren’t the cards you’ve been dealt, you aren’t cursed for life, you aren’t powerless and just along for the ride…..you have real power, so it’s time to take it back!
CHALLENGE: Define or redefine your goals. Even if your goal is to start being more productive, evaluate the emotional blocks that are keeping you from moving forward. Make a plan, then reassess that plan and add more granulated steps. Once you have a manageable strategy you are ready to go, just do it! One step forward is better than not moving at all.
I Know YOU Can Do It!