“The more uncertain you are of success, the harder it is to keep focused”
If low expectancy is your procrastination poison, that is, you expect to fail, then here are three strategies to help you:
Success spirals
Set yourself an ongoing series of challenging but ultimately achievable process or outcome goals. This is important when you’re a novice salesperson of your new business, you don’t always get results right away. So focusing on process goals gets you moving in the short-term. Each victory gives a new sense of self and desire to strive more.
Also setting and achieving goals in other areas of life helps bolster confidence for your target area. For me, starting my own business was quite daunting. I’d never done it before.
I’d go running in the park daily, setting goals for myself, like running 3 miles in less than 26 minutes, or running 1 mile in less than 8 minutes. Achieving these goals gave me a vivid experience of success I could hold on to and transfer into my business. Personal stories of triumph will bolster your spirits.
Vicarious victory
Seeing others succeed helps spark belief in yourself. Eliminate all the negative media and start watching, reading, and searching for inspiring stories. Join social groups to surround yourself with successful people who believe in themselves and are doing things you aspire to do or be – I joined Toastmasters to improve my public speaking, and was thrilled to be around people striving to improve themselves. Also, read inspiring autobiographies, watch inspiring movies or watch inspiring speakers.
Wish fulfillment
Athletes use visualization to achieve their goals. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian with 22 gold medals, was a devoted user of this technique. He ran a video tape in his mind many times a day, swimming the perfect race. In detail, he visualized every stroke, every breath, every drop of water that fell on his face. You must see and feel the end result.
“The tasks we hate most we tend to postpone”
Hopefully for the future these tips might help you to be inspired to work on your procrastination habits, even if just a little bit at a time. If you don’t succeed right away, don’t lose hope! The important thing is that you’re trying and to keep going, and don’t undermine even your smallest successes. Those small improvements can add up to a lot over time!