Procrastination

"Men must not only know, they must act." W.E.B. DuBois

We take action in many ways. The two most common are talking about taking action and actually taking action. For many years I was a person who talked about the grandest of actions and rarely did anything to achieve the goals I arrogantly described to others. I set such lofty goals, that I was always going "to get to it," but somehow never did.

I was forever deferring, delaying, putting off, modifying and making sure that I always had a reason for not getting something done. I always admired "doers"; people who said what they were going to do and actually did it when they said they would. Why couldn't I be like them? I never did find the answer to that question, but I did find the solution and like everything else, the solution was inside me.

 

As a Rabbi, Sober Coach and Spiritual Counselor, the most challenging part of working with others is helping them see that whatever it is they claim to seek, starts inside their souls rather than outside in their possessions. This is what I had to come to terms with in my own journey. What stopped me were none of the external forces of life. What stopped me and stops most of us was my lack of faith, hope, trust, gratitude and willingness.

What was the solution you ask? The first step in my journey to "doing" was telling myself I could do it. I was so used to not doing that I had to change the internal message in my brain and heart. That required that I self talk with great regularity. 

 

The next step was setting a goal that I could achieve. I had always set such grand goals that I became overwhelmed by the thought of them let alone doing them. This may sound like simple stuff to you lifetime "doers", but to those of us who procrastinated, it was new material. I can remember the awe I felt upon successfully achieving my first few goals. It propelled me to set new ones and set more new ones as I continued to soar in my journey into action.

 

I have set many goals since my spiritual awakening. Today I do not have to know the outcome when I set the goal. I only have to know the first thing to do and do it. It sounds so simple and today it is. For those of you who are struggling with that first step, I can help you as a Coach to get to the starting line and beyond.

My prayer for you today is that you take your first step into action by affirming your right "to do" and commence changing the message in your head and heart.