Want to Know the Real Reason Why You Procrastinate?

If you want something, you have to believe it’s yours and then act from that place.

I was on a podcast this morning (I’ll post the link when it’s live), and one of the questions interviewer, Lorna Faith, asked me was: what can newer writers do to move toward their goals? And the response I gave her was something she hadn’t heard anyone say before.

I told her that you don’t want to move toward your goals, you want to move from your goals. 

And then I went on to explain. Because there’s a big difference between moving toward a goal and moving from a goal.

Toward says, I don’t have it yet. And there’s a distinct feeling that comes with it. It’s not now, it’s in the future.

That feeling is totally uninspiring and un-motivating.

But when you move from a goal, it has a whole different feeling.

From says, it’s mine. I already have it. And the feelings you feel are happy, positive, excited, inspired.

And motivated to take action.

Writers procrastinate because they aren’t inspired from the inside.

When you get inspired from the inside, you’ll automatically take action on the outside. And the right actions. The ones that will actually help you bring your goal into reality. 

And to act from a goal, you have to first believe that it’s possible for you to have it. You have to believe you will get it and that you are worthy of it.

Otherwise you won’t be able to take action from the place of knowing it’s already yours.

You get to choose what you believe. And if you know that you’re someone who will not stop, let up, die out or give up before reaching your goal, then it’s a done deal. Right? 

Eventually, that goal will be yours. You will have achieved it and you’ll be able to add it to your list of accomplishments.

So if you know that to be true, and if you believe it will happen at some point, why not act like it right now? 

I know, I know, this way of thinking is so contrary to everything society tells us we should think. We’re told we have to work hard and pay our dues.

But that’s all bullshit.

I mean, yeah, you do have to work hard, but the work you do doesn’t have to be hard or, most importantly, feel hard.

When you’re moving toward a goal, it feels really fucking hard. It feels like you’re working your ass off and you have the world on your shoulders and you’re still not making it happen.

But when you’re moving from already having reached your goal, you feel light and airy. You feel happy on the inside. You are so excited you can’t wait to work on your writing project.

You’re still working hard, of course, it just feels easier now.

Because the Resistance is gone. And you’re totally lit from the inside and inspired to do the work to reach your writing dream.

And the more you act from this inspired-from-the-inside place, the more you’ll believe that you already have your dream.

I’m better with examples, so here’s one from my life:

I recently committed to taking on a whole new level of content creation. I did this because when I asked myself, “what would a bestselling transformational author, novelist and go-to story development coach be doing every day?” the answer that came back was: they’d be out in the world creating and sharing tons of content, spreading their message and moving forward on their mission.

So that’s what I needed to be doing.

I needed to start acting “as if” I have already achieved all the goals I have for my writing, my business and my life.

And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing ever since. This is the fifth blog post I’ve written this week (and there’s only been 5 days in the week so far).

Already stuff has started to shift in my reality. I’ve been getting contacted by people who want to interview me on their podcasts. I’ve gotten a bunch of new clients that I’m thrilled to be working with. I’ve sold a bunch of books.

And I’m happy. I’m insanely motivated. I’m inspired from the inside.

Which is by far the most important thing.

If you want something, you have to believe it’s yours and then act from that place.

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What’s your writing goal? And how are you going to start acting from it, rather than toward it? 

Featured image courtesy of urban_data