How to Stop the Procrastination with ‘Your Success Cycle’

Are you Living in the ‘Full On’ or ‘Not At All’ Cycle?

Do you find yourself wasting heaps of your precious time procrastinating over something you know will move you forward?

Are you waiting for the time to appear before you start to take action in a big way?

I want to tell you that you are not alone as I find myself speaking to many people who work with me about this very same subject.

Decide what you want to do and take action – sounds easy doesn’t it! Yet, you may be asking yourself why don’t I just do it – like the Nike slogan says? Good question.

Let’s take away the ‘Full On’ or ‘Not At All’ syndrome from your life. We all have cycles in life. The problem is that we always tend to make ourselves wrong whenever we are not in a certain cycle like being ‘Full On’ about something. What I learnt when I played sport at a National level was that we had to listen to our body energy cycles when training for an event. The cycle was low, moderate and high depending on pre-season, mid-season or post-season. This is a great analogy that we all can take on for sustainability in our own life and business choices.

Have you noticed at times there is something that needs to be done and you really do not feel like doing it, that when you get started slowly into it – how all of a sudden you find yourself really into it and actually enjoying what you are doing. This is because you are in the moment (out of your head) staying focussed on what you are doing. You will not enjoy doing things when you are thinking about everything else that has to be done as this causes pressure and overwhelm on yourself. This is also one of the main reasons why we do not start something that we know needs to be done or we really want to do, because we are too busy complaining inside about everything else instead of focussing on one thing at a time.

Whenever you move your body you are shifting your own energy levels and also your own way of thinking in the moment. Using the analogy of sport and any form of exercise – generally there is a warm-up phase that is required which not only prepares your body for exercise, it also prepares your mind. This happens through movement.

When I was a personal trainer, I would always ask my client this one crucial question ‘On a scale of 1-10 how does your body feel in energy levels right now?’ They would normally answer something like ….’well I have had a hard day at work and I am feeling about a 5 out of 10’… my response was always – Great! Let’s work a 5 out of 10 in your warm up – choose which cardio equipment you want to work on? This is a very different approach to the old school way of pushing and driving yourself, which is what I use to do by the way in my earlier training days and this would totally exhaust me by the end of the season.

So looking back and changing my way of doing things as I got older and wiser, I always found this was more of a sustainable approach. It certainly took away the mindset with people thinking that doing exercise meant hard work. It is only hard work when you push yourself into it from the start having a high expectation on how you should be (yes should be) doing things instead of listening to what your body is telling you first in order to allow your mindset to catch up and enjoy the process.

My client would always be concerned when I would say to them to work a 5 out of 10 because they would respond by saying that they are paying me to push them. Mmm! Interesting isn’t it – because they have been pushing themselves in their own minds and sometimes physically for years and where did it get them. You need the mind to be working in unison with your body, otherwise you will not get the desired results with ease. You will forever feel like you are pushing and putting out heaps of energy with little result to show for it. Anyway, let’s continue. As soon as the client started working a 5 out of 10 on their selected cardio equipment, after 5 minutes I would ask them. ‘Now how do you feel out of 10?” “About a 7 out of 10” they would answer. Great keep going and let me know when you feel like an 8 out of 10. As soon as they responded 8 out of 10.

This was the time I knew their body and their mind was totally present and working in unison ready for the workout.

I’ll never forget the day when I had an insightful moment recognising that this same cycle also applies to life and your business when taking action every day. I began practising consciously connecting all 3 aspects of myself when setting up my business and making time for my family. Everything changed. I noticed how I instantly became much more present when I was at home with my husband connecting with him after work instead of staying inside my busy head thinking of everything else that had to be done. I noticed myself connecting more to my gut feelings when making business decisions instead of listening to my head saying ‘you really should do this or that’.

Life became an instant balance for me with peace of mind knowing that I had plenty of time to do the important things in my life and my business.

This is what is known as Body-Mind-Soul Connection. Are you connected with your Body-Mind-Soul or are you pushing through your day feeling exhausted with no time to scratch yourself?

If you want true success in your life and business, then make the change today and get to know your success cycle using this same process inside your business choices and when you spend time with your family or even making time for yourself.

How to get started:

1. 1. Set up your Day to Win the Night Before

Diarise your priority actions inside realistic time frames. Make sure you have plenty of white spaces for yourself to expand on any new opportunities coming in.

1. 2. Observe Yourself and Your Feelings (Ask this 1 Vital Question)

When you look at your next day’s schedule (the night before) – Ask yourself…

“Do I feel free, excited and accomplished when looking at my day set up for tomorrow”

Yes it is possible to set your day up like this…I know because I will not step into my day without feeling this way first.

If you do not feel free, excited and accomplished about the day you are setting up, then I strongly suggest you cancel, change, re-arrange, add….whatever you need to do to fulfil this.

1. 3. Make Time for Yourself every day

One of the main reasons people feel overwhelmed about their day is because they do not make time to do the important things for themselves. Make this a PRIORITY.

1. 4. Visualise your Ideal Day

When putting your head on the pillow at night, as you close your eyes, visualise your ideal day seeing yourself flowing through your day attracting ideal clients, making more money, plenty of time for exercise, spending time with your husband etc. Then gently nod off to sleep.

1. 5. Notice your First Thoughts in the Morning

Are your first thoughts in the morning positive or negative. Whatever they are for you will be the theme for the day unless you take control of your thoughts and change them. Begin to be grateful from your heart for everything you have today in your life. Begin your Day with the most powerful words in the universe “Thank You” and keep saying Thank You until you notice your energy shift into a natural flow of enthusiasm and excitement about your day.

Yes this is a daily practice and is one that took me a while to change. So hang in there – you can do it.

A Final Thought:

Never under-estimate the Basics. I cannot tell you how often I hear clients say to me “I just want to get back to Basics”. It is the basics that create an extraordinary life. It is the basics that add up to you achieving your life and business goals and vision. Persist and be patient with yourself. Keep on doing the important things for your Body-Mind-Soul Connection for every day success.