How to break the habit of Procrastination - and start working toward your goals TODAY!

How do you break the habit of being caught up in the daily grind? How do you stop procrastinating and dreaming about reaching your goals, and start actually taking action to reach them? How do you get over the fear of failure, limiting beliefs, or just plain hesitation to put yourself out there and claim your dream business, job, partner, or whatever else you want in life?!

Imagine if a year went by, and you stayed exactly where you’re at. Now imagine 5 years go by, and you still haven’t taken any action toward your goals. You’re exactly where you’re at, in exactly the same place.

Now imagine 10 years go by…

Does that sound crazy? Are you thinking, “No way, I’d never let that happen!” Well, you’d be surprised how many people this has happened to...

One time I met a man who was working at a bank. He had been working there for 30 years. When I asked him if he liked it, he said, “Hell no!” Turned out he totally hated it. But he’d been working there so long, eventually he just forgot to quit. Each day, he would get up and think, “I hate my job!” but he wouldn’t do anything about it. Eventually it just became a habit.

Each day, the day would pass without him doing anything to change his situation. It didn’t seem like a big deal to him on a day by day basis. But before he knew it, he woke up and 30 years had passed!

Do you know anyone like this? Someone who’s been working at a job they hate for years? It’s really common. Our brains are wired against change, and we humans love to stay in our comfort zones.

A great tool to stop all of this - before 30 years go by for you too! - is to connect with your future self.

Getting ready for work as a Solar Sales rep. Boy am I glad I didn't stay there for 30 years!

You see, your future self has a wisdom that your current self doesn’t have yet. Your future self has ALREADY ACHIEVED the goal that you’re working toward right now! Your future self knows how to overcome the obstacles to reach your goal, because they've already done it! So while your current self might be caught up in the fear of getting started, fear of the unknown, fear of failure, limiting beliefs, and all the other fears that we have the joy of dealing with - your future self has already moved past those fears and reached your goals.

Imagine where you want to be a year from today. Imagine what your day to day life looks like, what you’ve achieved, and what you’ve done to get there. Step into the reality of your future, and envision with your future self a year from now. Notice everything you can about your future reality... How do you feel? What do you look like? What is your life like? Where are you living? Where are you working from? What day to day tasks are you doing? What else do you notice about your future? Now ask your future self ALL the questions about how to GET to that reality! Stuff like: What is your future self doing that you haven’t done yet? What actions did your future self take to reach your goal? What advice does your future self have for you, that will help you today? What advice do they have about the current problem or obstacle you're facing? What action does your future self suggest, that you could take today? What else does your future self want you to know?! See if you can really connect with him/her/them and soak up all the knowledge you can.

My future self wants me to eat healthy! But she also says it's okay to mess up and eat a cheeseburger every now and then - I can try again tomorrow :)

You can also try writing a letter from your future self to your present self. Have your future self give your present self all the love, support and advice you need in this letter. Tell your present self everything that you need to hear.

When you’re writing this letter, it’s a good idea to take yourself out of your day to day environment and go somewhere that allows you to dream big. Go somewhere you find inspiring and beautiful to write the letter. Take your time and write freely without censoring yourself. No one is going to see this letter except you, so allow yourself to dream big!

Once you’ve finished the letter, there are a few things you can do to bring it alive. Keep it where you can see it regularly, and re-read it from time to time to remind yourself of your goals. You can break it down, maybe try splitting the year into quarters with goals for each month. You can share your letter with someone you trust – a coach or a close friend who will cheer me on and hold me accountable. Also there’s a great website called futureme.org – if you post your letter there, they’ll email it back to you in one year from now.

It’s a good idea to connect with your future self on a regular basis. How are things going? Are you still on track to reaching your goals? Or have you fallen back into old, familiar habits? I like to check in with my future self about once a month. She really does know what’s best for me!