What to do when procrastination shows up

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Usually I love sitting down to write my next blog post. It’s creative and expressive, and I genuinely feel like I’m connecting with each person who ends up reading my words. Writing has always been energizing for me.

But today, strangely, I felt a ton of resistance.

Every time I tried to sit down to write, I felt fidgety and distracted. I’d write a few words and then remember, “Oh, yeah, I have to move my clothes into the dryer!”

Then I’d brainstorm a couple of topics and think, “Nah, I’m not feeling inspired about any of those. I’ll go read my book for a while.”

Somehow, even washing dishes felt preferable to writing a blog post today.

I sat down one last time to write something, and the resistance flared up worse than ever. “That’s it,” I thought. “I’m going for a walk to clear my head and figure out what’s going on with me today.”

{I realize now that getting up from the computer, yet again, to take a walk was probably another form of procrastination, but I decided to trust my gut.}

While I was walking, I got tough with myself. My thoughts went something like, “Seriously?? What’s your deal? Why are you procrastinating like a champion today? Where is all this resistance coming from?”

As soon as those questions passed through my mind, I knew the answer.

Resistance is rearing its ugly head today to challenge me to write about it. It’s uncomfortable to admit that you’re feeling blocked or unable to do something that’s moving you toward your bigger goals.

I knew, though, that by exposing the resistance, it would lose its power. And in fact, sharing my story might be exactly what someone else needed to fight procrastination today, too.

Whenever I’m feeling resistance, I always remember a quote from Steven Pressfield’s book “The War of Art”:

“The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”

I see this happening to my clients all the time.

We’ll have a major breakthrough in one of our coaching calls, and they’ll realize they want to move to a new city, or start a side business, or enroll in an art class. In the moment, they’re so energized and excited and passionate that they almost can’t wait to get off the phone to get started.

But then, when I talk to them the following week, they’ll say, “Well, I meant to enroll in that class, but a big project came up at work and I just got really busy.”

Resistance. Fear. Discomfort.

They all show up in a flood to dissuade you from action so you can stay safely in your comfort zone {which usually isn’t all that comfortable, when you stop to think about it}.

It’s a totally normal reaction, but it can be debilitating if you let it take over.

The best thing I can have my clients do at that point is expose the resistance, the same way I did about writing today’s blog. Once they finally recognize, out loud, that they’re feeling fear around taking this next step, the resistance often melts away and they’re back in action-mode.

Procrastination and resistance will try to use every dirty trick in the book to take over and stop you from taking action toward your dreams, so it’s up to you expose them {to the right people who won’t feed your fear} and take bold action anyway.

I’ll quote Steven Pressfield one more time, because this one always cuts to my core:

“The most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off till our deathbed.”

If you feel like you’ve gotten stuck in a pattern of procrastination and inaction, feel free to sign up for a free breakthrough coaching session so that Rachel or I can help you break the habit.

Now I want to hear from you. What are you procrastinating on? Where are you feeling the most resistance? Leave us a comment below!

Much Love,

Kristen (+ Rachel)