Hi,
My name is Spiros and today I would like to share with you a very powerful question.
A question that you can ask yourself to overcome procrastination.
But let me start with a story.
Yesterday,
A coaching client of mine kept on saying how difficult it is to find time for him,
Amidst work,
Chores and kids.
His target is to run 2 times per week,
So he becomes fitter.
But every single time that I ask him how the run was,
He says that he couldn't go.
He mentions various reasons,
Which seem valid.
For example,
I was tired after work,
So I couldn't run.
I had to look after the kids this evening.
I had to finish a task from work.
I had to,
I had to,
I had to.
Particularly yesterday,
He replied,
I was so hungry and after eating I got heavy,
So I couldn't go.
Then I asked him,
Is being hungry an obstacle or an excuse?
To which he replied,
What is the difference?
Well,
I told him,
An obstacle is something that prevents you from doing something.
If you had a broken leg,
For example,
That would be an obstacle.
You couldn't run.
However,
An excuse is something that you tell to yourself,
To justify why you are not taking the necessary actions.
After a minute of silence,
He timidly said with worry,
Yeah,
You are right,
It is an excuse.
I just realized that I find excuses for all sorts of stuff during my day.
That is why I keep on procrastinating,
I guess.
But what can I do now?
If it is an obstacle,
I said,
We could brainstorm together and find ways to overcome it.
If,
On the other hand,
It is an excuse,
You ultimately have two options.
First,
You can forget all about your goal.
Perhaps you don't really want to do it after all.
Or,
You can transform your excuse to an obstacle and find ways to overcome it.
Another minute passed in silence.
The next time that my client spoke,
It was with enthusiasm,
As he had clarity around his thinking pattern.
The pattern that he had just noticed for the first time.
To finish the story,
My client committed to go running immediately after our coaching session,
Regardless of being drained from his busy day.
And this morning,
Guess what?
He called me to tell me that he actually did run last evening,
For 40 minutes.
And you know,
Sometimes we need someone else to provoke the story we play inside our heads.
Because we are so used to the story that we don't see it clearly or objectively.
So,
To finish off,
I would like you to think about something that you procrastinate for so long now.
And try to remember the reason that prevents you from doing that the last time.
And I would like to ask you,
Is this reason that prevents you from doing what you wanted?
Is this reason an obstacle or an excuse?
Again,
Is the reason an obstacle or an excuse?
I hope you find this short podcast interesting and as a way to motivate you when you keep on procrastinating.
Keep on thinking,
Is this an obstacle or an excuse?
Thank you for listening.
