You simply love to get ahead of yourself. No wonder they say patience is a virtue. You get so far ahead of yourself that all motivation disappears before you even get started.
Every time you are faced with a project or goal that requires a significant commitment, you start thinking about everything that needs to be done, only to find yourself overwhelmed by all the work.
As you begin to realize the level of commitment required, you quickly build a wall that does not let you think clearly, it does not allow you to see things through, blocking your vision and narrowing your scope.
A wall of excuses made up of all the individual reasons why you should not engage in the project. But, in reality, you are nothing more than scared of one of two things or maybe both.
Either, all the work that will take to reach success scares you or you are actually scared of being successful.
In any case, this fear has the power of making you walk away from incredible opportunities, again and again. So you decide to listen to “reason,” only to find yourself 10 years later stuck in the same place.
“Time will pass by anyway, what matter is what you do with it”
The good news is, that no matter how tall this wall may be, no matter how thick and strong it may get, you can indeed take it apart. Although, it will take some serious pushing from your side to get out of your comfort zone.
This is normally how large projects are approached:
- Presentation of the situation or the goal.
- Analysis of the situation.
- Getting ahead of yourself by creating a variety of scenarios that have not happened yet. This is when you begin to look at all the work that needs to be done or your self-confidence betrays you and success strikes back.
- The wall is built.
- Feeling overwhelmed, not knowing where to start.
- Becoming demotivated.
- Dropping off from pursuing the goal.
Now, how about trying something different next time you are faced with this situation.
1. Presentation of the situation or the goal.
2. Analysis of the situation.
3. Getting ahead of yourself by creating a variety of scenarios that have not happened yet. This is when you begin to look at all the work that needs to be done or your self-confidence betrays you and success strikes back.
4. The wall is built.
5. Focus on BREAKING DOWN THE WALL.
Simplify things by breaking down the wall into more manageable tasks; same as a cake, you don’t eat the whole thing at once, you cut it into pieces first, right?
Everything is developed step by step and overnight success is not really an overnight success. If you want to become a famous singer, you can’t be worrying about being chased by paparazzi if you haven’t started working on your singing skills.
Don’t focus on what you need to do, but rather on the benefits that achieving your goal will bring you. It’s the idea of growing, which will give you plenty of motivation to push your way forward.
That means, avoid paying attention to all the tasks you need to do to achieve your goal because that is how you will get overwhelmed. Just group them in small badges, which will simplify the process a lot!
If you manage to overcome that part, the next is dealing with those moments when your self-confidence gives away, as Marianne Williamson said:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It’s our light, not our darkness that most frightens us”
In the beginning, it’s possible that you will doubt your skills and abilities to lead the project. As you start implementing your strategy, you will probably begin to doubt your idea every now and then.
Whenever that happens, take a break to recharge and evaluate where you are, re-connect and continue, one step at the time…
Worst case scenario? It took the guys from Angry Birds (a popular mobile phone game) 50 failed apps to come up with Angry Birds.
6. Don’t let procrastination set in. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to start. Start with the hardest tasks first.
7. Track your progress often. It will help you recognize your efforts (resulting in a great boost of motivation) while making sure you are moving closer to your goal.
8. Achievement! Congrats grad! Reward yourself. You have worked really hard for this and you have earned it.
9. Look back into your experience. By doing this, it allows you to learn from your successes and most importantly, mistakes.
This is not rocket science nor some kind of ancient secret revelation. These are simple, straightforward steps to overcome your biggest obstacle, yourself.
Many times, we disregard information like this because we think that it is obvious, because “we know it already” or because “things are never this easy.”
I can tell you one thing. Since the moment I changed my way of seeing things and started using this approach to overcome my wall, results have exceeded my expectation.
Things CAN be easy, it all depends on you…
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I would like you to share in the comment section below, how you have dealt with your personal wall before? Did you find yourself losing motivation or did you manage to overcome?
Cheers!