[[:encoded, "Think about the promises you’ve made to yourself in the past. Of all the promises and commitments you have made to yourself, how many have you kept?\n\nMost people find that the gap between their intentions and their actions is too vast, and fall short of doing what is required to achieve their goals. Incredibly, most of us continue to believe that we will follow through “next time” rather than taking action to make our current goal a reality. Our lack of ability to commit to taking action prevents us from achieving personal, financial, relationship, and career goals that would otherwise be well within our reach.\n\nHave you ever considered the cost of poor follow through in your life? Think about a goal that you have failed to meet in the past. Was your failure to follow through a by-product of the fact that you were really okay with the way things were to begin with? Or does the poor follow through bother you? Does the knowledge that you didn’t follow through with your goals eat you up inside because you know you aren’t doing what you need to do to get the result you say you want?\n\nAs long as we continue to expect our “good” intentions to work the way they should instead of facing reality about the probability of following through, we’ll just keep repeating the same mistakes. Maybe procrastination is something that should be no longer acceptable in your life.\n\nWhen we rationalize with ourselves to avoid completing necessary tasks we are only holding ourselves back from getting what we desire. This is why the best performers and athletes have coaches, and so should you. We are human. It’s okay. Get help!"]]
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Aim for what you want each and every day!
Anne Bachrach
The Accountability Coach™
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(upbeat music) - Hello, and welcome to the Accountability Coach podcast where we will discuss topics, ideas, questions, and issues related to having a totally balanced and successful life. This is Ann Baccrack. Today we're gonna talk about procrastination or poor follow through. William James says, "Nothing is as fatiguing "as the continued hanging on of an uncompleted task." Poor follow through, consciously deciding to do something but then not doing it for whatever reason is a fact of life for many of us. Most people find the gap between their intentions and their actions is too vast and fall short of doing what is required to achieve their goals. Think about the promises you've made to yourself in the past, of all the promises and commitments that you made to yourself. How many have you actually kept? Poor follow through is a fixture of modern life. Incredibly, most of us continue to believe that we will follow through next time rather than taking action to make our current goal a reality. This phenomenon takes a toll on virtually every aspect of our life. Our lack of ability to commit to taking action prevents us from achieving personal, financial, relationship, and even career goals that would otherwise be well within our reach. Have you ever considered the cost of poor follow through in your life? Think about a goal that you've failed to meet in the past. Was your failure to follow through a byproduct of the fact that you were really okay with the way things were to begin with? Or does the poor follow through really bother you? Does the knowledge that you didn't follow through with your goals eat you up inside because you know that you aren't going to do what you need to do to get the results that you want? As long as we continue to expect our good intentions to work the way we think they should, instead of facing the reality about the probability of following through, we'll just keep repeating the same mistakes. When we rationalize with ourselves to avoid completing necessary tasks, we're only holding ourselves back from getting what we desire. This is why the best performers and athletes have coaches. We're human, it's okay, get help. Let me share a story with you. In November of 1997, my husband Bill began training for the 1998 Hawaii Iron Man Triathlon. The one day event was scheduled for October of 1998. Leaving him with only 10 months to prepare for a 2.4 mile ocean swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile marathon run. The only possible way to prepare for an event of this caliber in such a short timeframe was to create a plan and stick with it. Which Bill did? Well, at least for the most part. Swimming has never been his strong suit. Bill began training for the land events as planned. He began running and biking, and even started lifting weights to build the strength and stamina for the plan created by his friend and coach, the six time Hawaii Iron Man champion, Mark Allen. By the time February arrived, Bill knew that he was behind on his swimming schedule. Someone told him that 70% of the swim is technique, so he bought a book. Then he bought the video. He even enrolled in a swim clinic for the last weekend in March. But he had still managed to keep his training on land. I guess in his mind, there was no sense in getting into the water until he learned the proper technique. I was starting to get nervous. During the first week of March, Bill began working with Mark Allen. Bill was helping Mark work on his presentation skill for his motivational speaking career when Mark asked about Bill's training. Bill gave him the rundown. He described his routine running, his cycling development, and weight training regime. Bill rambled on and on, hoping Mark wouldn't notice he was avoiding his water routine. Mark wasn't falling for this scheme though. He asked Bill point blank how the swimming was going. Well, Bill smiled weekly and said, well, I've been reading the book and watching the video about the proper technique, and I'm signed up for a swim clinic. Great, Mark said, so how's it going in the pool? Bill knew he was trapped. I haven't actually been in the pool yet, he said. Well, you know Bill, Mark said slowly, you really do have to get in the pool. Tooth has a remarkable power over people. Bill realized he had to get in the pool, not in March, not next month, but right then. Bill's procrastination with swimming could have cost him his dream of completing the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. Luckily for him a voice of reason, Mark Allen, stepped in and caused him to see the error of his ways. Someone was willing to tell him the truth and that's what an accountability coach really does for you. Maybe procrastination is something that should be no longer acceptable in your life. Is procrastination something that affects you to some degree? If so, why do you think we procrastinate? Well, studies indicate that there is a variety of reasons, including some of the following false beliefs. Fear of success, can you believe it? Some of us have a fear of success. Strange as it may seem, we aren't sure what the next level holds, so we hold ourself back from reaching it. What about fear of failure? Some people may worry about how others will perceive them when they fail so they don't bother to even try. They are comfortable right where they are and don't want to attempt things that could cause them to fail. Fear of the unknown. So many times people will procrastinate because they aren't sure of the outcome. They don't know how people or someone would respond to something that they say so they don't say what's on their mind. When you try things that are new and different, you don't know how people will react. So you just have to do it anyway. There is no way that I know of to be even more successful than to try new things and just see what happens. The good news is once you start to try some new things that you are afraid of, you actually will get better at trying new things, you aren't sure how it will turn out because you realize that most of them usually turn out to your benefit and you achieve the results you desire. Perfectionism. Some procrastinators are perfectionists. They may start something but never seem to get it finished because they view it's not perfect, therefore never completing it. They may think they want to do something on the other hand but never start because they don't know the perfect way to complete the task or project. My husband sometimes calls these people getting ready to get ready. The truth, the need for actually the rush of adrenaline. How many times have you heard someone say they work better under pressure or their best work is done when they're up against those deadlines? That's the need for the rush of adrenaline. Over estimating the time left to complete a task is a false belief. Under estimating a time left to complete a task. Mood versus displacement. Have you ever heard someone say or felt that they weren't in the right frame of mind to do the task required when it was scheduled? Some people might continually have the feeling that they aren't in the right frame of mind to get that task required actually done. The paraphrase, Mark Allen, again, six time Hawaii Ironman champion. You need to do the work the goal requires to achieve it. Lack of self control. Believe it or not, impulsivity can be a major contributor to procrastination. So many people allow themselves to be easily distracted all day with a variety of distractions. Do you? Jim Cathcart says the future you see defines the person you'll be. Begin to enjoy the experience of an even greater quality of life and total life balance. Aim for what you want each and every day. Until next time, make it a great day today and every day. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [ Silence ]
[[:encoded, "Think about the promises you’ve made to yourself in the past. Of all the promises and commitments you have made to yourself, how many have you kept?\n\nMost people find that the gap between their intentions and their actions is too vast, and fall short of doing what is required to achieve their goals. Incredibly, most of us continue to believe that we will follow through “next time” rather than taking action to make our current goal a reality. Our lack of ability to commit to ta...
