There are many different reasons that stop us from taking action. Sometimes it’s because we’re afraid that we might fail, or we’re afraid that we’re not good enough, or we just don’t know where to start from.
In this post, I’ll guide you to gain awareness on how exactly do you feel and why you’re not taking action, what to do when you’re overcomplicating things, and I’ll share an action step you can take in situations where you just can’t push yourself to take action. Let’s get started with becoming aware of what’s the bigger issue.
#1 What’s holding you back from taking action?
“If you’re waiting until you feel talented enough to make it, you’ll never make it.”
― Criss Jami
This is the first thing you have to do when you’re struggling with procrastinating and not taking action on your goals. You have to find that block within you that keeps you stuck. It’s like you have this heavy weight on your shoulders and it’s so hard to keep moving forward with it. It drags you down. It keeps you stuck. You just can’t keep moving with it.
And then, once you realize what is it that’s been holding you back, you can just leave it behind. Like that weight on your shoulders. You put it down and keep walking with ease and you ask yourself, ”Why didn’t I let go of this weight earlier??” Well, it’s because you weren’t even aware that it was there.
In moments like those, where you’re wondering how to take action on your goals, you need to bring awareness to what’s been holding you back. Even if you think that it’s just a phase, that you’ve been working a lot lately, and can’t seem to take action on other things, you need to address the problem.
Otherwise, it will keep coming back.
#2 How can you make taking action simple for yourself?
As a business owner, I sometimes tend to overcomplicate things. I am active on different platforms and I’m also doing a lot of the work behind the scenes.
The work is never done and there is ALWAYS something more that I could do. And I love that. I love the opportunity to be creative and to help women in many different ways.
However, sometimes it can get to the point where I’m thinking, ”Oh, I should do this. Ooh, and this sounds even better.” And just yesterday I coached myself through that process.
One of the questions I asked myself was, ”How can I make this simple for myself?”
From that moment, a whole other world opened for me. I started to look at the situation that only a few seconds before was overwhelming, suddenly with such clarity and focus. It was the same situation – but a different perspective. I allowed myself to simplify the process and take action in the direction that is the best for me.
The thing is that overcomplicating comes naturally to us. The goal is not to never complicate things again. We’re creative creatures. We can easily think of 10 ways to do something or, in this case, to AVOID doing something. But in moments like those, we need to LEARN to see the bigger picture and simplify the process.
Because, if not, the constant overcomplicating and analyzing things from every single angle will stop us from taking action.
#3 Use the 5-Second Rule to get started.
Oftentimes, when we start overthinking things, it leads us to an analysis – paralysis state. We overanalyze it to the point where we end up feeling overwhelmed and we just freeze.
When that happens, you just have to take action. This 5-second rule that I learned from Mel Robbins has helped me many times to take action. I use it when it comes to smaller things like getting up and leaving my warm bed in the winter, doing a workout, as well as for bigger things in my business that at first seem scary and out of my comfort zone.
The way this rule works is that you count down from 5 and when you come to 1 you just do the thing you’ve been procrastinating with. Whether you’ve been procrastinating because of your negative self-talk, you got in the cycle of thinking that you’re not good enough for what you want to do, or you’re just having a lazy day, in order to start taking action, remember this rule and say to yourself that when you come to 1, you’re just going to stop with excuses and do the thing.
So, sure, journal about it, talk to your coach about it, talk to your partner about it. But there comes a time when you just need to say, ”Okay, I have to get this done.”
If you feel insecure and afraid to start taking action which makes you stuck where you are and you often give up on things you’d love to do because you’re worried about what someone else might think if you fail, then this training is perfect for you!
In this free video training, you will:
>> learn how to become more aware of your fears and what’s holding you back
>> learn how to take back control and find the positive in the previous struggles
>> create an epic action plan to confidently move forward and start taking action on your goals
This is interactive training, so make sure you prepare a notebook and a pen. There are a lot of questions and exercises to dive deep into.
If you want to start taking action and showing up with confidence, then sign up on this link to watch this training.
Until the next time,
I.
This is a really good post! I think lots of people have a roblem with procrastination. Also, nice layout! 🙂
Thank you for sharing these tips! I have always wanted to learn to sew, and I even bought a sewing machine 1 year ago. I almost didn’t use it since then, always finding some excuse not to practice. It is time to change this!
This is a brilliant post! I tend to postpone a lot of things and wait before taking action, often because I’m scared of taking the leap. These tips are awesome. I already apply the five seconds rule for smaller actions and it works wonders!
Have a great weekend Ivana! x
Julia x
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I’ve been meaning to read The 5-second Rule. I used to struggle with decision-making and starting to take action, and I think that book would be an interesting read.
Lots of useful ideas you have listed down. The best part is that it felt like a personal talk and so it connected well.
So happy to hear it felt that way! I’m glad that you found it useful 🙂