Frank Yan’s heart sank and his REM of sleep was disturbed. Frank couldn’t believe his iPad alarm was chiming off repeatedly in his Sacramento home. It can’t be 3am already, it can’t. He didn’t feel like this nor did Frank really feel like waking up. He snuggled deeper and deeper into his duvet, imagining the cold he would feel when he got up. Frank really doesn’t feel like this. After a few minutes, Frank slumped carelessly out of bed with a huge sigh. A while later he was doing what he really didn’t feel like doing. Start his day, Day Trading, and then off to work he goes.
Not Doing What You Don’t Feel Like Doing
Later on during that day, Frank received a call “Mr. Yan, Mr. Yan, Mr. Frank Yan… Are you somewhere in Canada or home in Sacramento, Canada, or Sacramento? We need you” This call was from a potential prospect who wanted Frank to give a Web Ex presentation to a group of people in their organization. Sure, Frank said. He put the phone down and realized that he could start preparing straight away. “But, he don’t feel like it at this time”, Frank said to himself, and promptly starting going through his various emails. This time Frank let himself off the hook to easy even though it was the perfect opportunity to get going.
In the first story here, Frank chose to do something he didn’t feel like doing. We all do this, and so very often. Ever brushed your teeth late at night when you didn’t feel like it? Ever visited your in-laws even though you didn’t feel like it? Ever agreed to pick up a “drunkenness” friend at midnight, even though you’d much rather be asleep in bed? What about this one. When you had a huge outing one night with close friends, then got up to go to work the next day, even though you didn’t feel like it? Very often we do these things we don’t feel like doing. We are all so totally CAPABLE of doing these things we don’t like or don’t feel like. That’s life.
In the 2nd story there was something Frank didn’t feel like doing, and so he chose not to do it. He was buying into the belief that “I can’t do it because I don’t feel like doing it”. This is not such a good thing to be doing.
Procrastination causes stress eventually.
Most of us start buying into that belief when we are at school. I can’t study because I am so unmotivated. I can’t start on that project because I really don’t feel like it. If You Could Only Get Motivated, Then You Would do the Work Very often we believe that we have to be motivated first and then we can do the work.
NOT True!
We are totally capable of not doing things we don’t feel like doing. We DO NOT have to be motivated first. When we start going to the gym after work, we aren’t motivated. At all. Half way through our sessions, we start to feel energized and enjoy ourselves. By the end of our sessions, we are fatigue, sweaty, and say to ourselves “That was awesome, and I really needed that!” Very often, if we choose to do the task we don’t feel like doing, and we begin it. We find that motivation follows anyway.
The belief: “I have to be motivated before I can do the work” is false and limits us. It prevents us from being as successful as we potentially could be. It’s one of the ways that we sabotage ourselves. We believe this thought and we treat it like a fact. Then let ourselves off the hook and we don’t do the work. If we’ve deeply integrated this belief, we don’t even feel guilty for not doing the work.
Throw Out the Limiting Belief, Bring in the Empowering One
If you want to move ahead more successfully in the world, throw out that belief. Practice this one rather: “As soon as I start working, I’ll feel more motivated”.
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