We’re three weeks into the new year, and my big question for you this week is: Have you started on your new year’s goals yet?
If your response is no, then my next question is, Why not?
Now, this is not an opportunity to beat yourself up or judge, berate or condemn yourself. That would be the opposite of self-love. But consider this a moment of reflection to ask yourself, What’s keeping me from starting?
Might it be the infamous 15-letter word that robs most people of their dreams, and is what I call one of the greatest mothers of fear: PROCRASTINATION?
Procrastination is an insidious dream blocker. We may think it’s our friend, but it’s one of our biggest foes, incessantly reminding us that life can wait, our dreams can wait and oh—there’s “plenty of time.”
Truth be told, what lies beneath our procrastination is often an unconscious belief system that we’re not good enough and our dreams are not good enough. So why not just keep putting them off? And if we examine procrastination even further, we discover that fear is navigating that ship, too—fear of failure, or even fear of success, each of which has a host of implications.
So how do we shame procrastination and put it in its place? First, we name it and call it what it is: A lie. A big untruth that only has the power and life we give to it. Fear is only a thought—a conditioned belief that we believe is true. Then we can ask ourselves, What is truly keeping me from putting off my goals and dreams? Consider journaling whatever thoughts and feelings come up.
Is there someone you’re afraid of disappointing if you don’t make it—or if you succeed? Do you feel inherently worthy of your dreams? Do you believe that you deserve it?
Answers to these questions might powerfully reveal to us why we might delay our dreams. That simple awareness can create a shift in our mindset and aid us in pushing through our fears and the litany of old untruths playing on repeat in our mental script.
Last, we can elicit the support of a coach or accountability partner to help us streamline our goals, get started and stay on track.
There are some old sayings that never die, and there’s a reason we still hear them—because they still ring true:
Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Or, tomorrow isn’t promised.
The point of power is NOW. There is no other moment. There is no better time to initiate our dreams than today. Now is the moment to seize our wildest dreams and goals, because the magic and miracles are captured in the moment.
This week, I challenge you to start that goal you’ve been putting off since Jan. 1, and might have been putting off since last year. Take one small actionable step toward that goal today. Pick up the phone and make that important phone call, send that email, start writing that business plan. If you’re struggling to clarify your goals or initiating the first step, consider the support of a coach to guide you.
Your goals are too important and valuable to stay inside you. You deserve them, and the world needs you and your dreams.
Best of luck!