Although you know that those things won’t get done on their own your heart seems to sink and you decide that putting by putting off those jobs that somehow or other they’ll get done on their own.

What could you do to overcome this procrastination? The longer you put off a task the more it seems to resemble something like a load and it becomes a load which gets heavier and heavier the more you think about not moving it. So in order to get that load moving you can do the following: Point to where you feel as though the load is inside of you. You might feel as though it’s in your head or near your solar plexus or somewhere else in your body. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine being able to lift the load out in your hand (or hands if its very big!) and take a good look at it. What does it look like? What colour is it? What is the texture? How big is it? Does it make any sound? Now make it smaller, much smaller; softer; lighter colour; lighter in weight too. Can you make it small enough to blow it away? Now tell yourself it’s time to decide what you must do in order to compete the task you are procrastinating about.

Then ask yourself:

1. ‘Before that what do you have to do?’

2. ‘And before that?’ and continue in this way until you can no longer answer that question.

You will have reached your real first step. Now complete that first step. Do you notice how much better you feel already?

The task won’t seem quite so overwhelming. Once you have completed that first step you can go on to do the next and the next until you have achieved what you wanted.

It’s a common experience that people think about the whole task in its entirety and that can be overwhelming and inhibiting so that you find it difficult to start. However if you do this exercise and chunk down to find the real first step you’ll be able to succeed more easily.

Make the change you want: find your first step

Do the exercise and let me know in the comment box what your first step will be…..

What not to do:
Be vague about what you want to achieve. Promises to yourself that you will succeed with the weight loss or the fitness goals you want to be happier and healthier are likely to fail again.
Set goals which you could never achieve. It’s good to aim high but you need to be realistic about what could be possible too in relation to your current lifestyle, your age and fitness.
Don’t plan anything and expect that somehow or other you’ll find the motivation and time to do the exercise classes, go to the gym or buy and prepare healthier food. It just won’t happen on its own.
Keep it a secret from those close to you. If you don’t tell them what you are planning to d they won’t be able to support and encourage you to reach your goals.

Things to do:
Be as specific as you can be. You need to set yourself a very specific amount of weight you want to lose and spell out exactly what you plan to do raised your chance of success this time.
Aim high but not too high. Be inspired by other people’s success especially if they are a similar age and fitness level as you.
Keep a diary both to plan your new routines and to journal the ups and downs of your journey of change. Planning when you can introduce new routines into your day and then writing when you plan to do what is both motivating and enables you to move forward with your goal achievement successes.
Share your challenges with other people: those nearest and dearest in your family or amongst your friends. Also find others to form a support group with others facing similar challenges is a great way to keep going if you face some setbacks and encourage you to get back on track.

If you really want to make some big changes take a lookHERE

What steps do you need to take now?

If you want to change something in your life that you don’t like then you have to start to look at your life from a new perspective because unless you do so, life and whatever you don’t like in it may continue unchanged however much you wish for it to change, the secret is to do things differently.

Do things you  hadn’t considered previously by:

Setting  new boundaries.

Habits are the way you define your life. They are your boundaries, the way you know when to start and when to stop, how you decide what doing something actually means to you and how you behave each day. All of these things can be changed if you decide you want life to be different.  You could start with changing something such as the time you get up in the morning or the time you go to bed. A change in one part of your life makes it easier for you to make changes in another part.

Trying something new.

Not only new boundaries but also what you do and how you do it. Try doing something you haven’t done before or approach solving a problem or challenge in a new way. Notice how friends, family or work colleagues do the same tasks, especially if they do them more quickly or more efficiently than you, and learn to do the same yourself. When you find  new ways to achieve the desired outcomes you will be motivated to get more done yourself.

Changing your perspective.

Notice what seems important and what doesn’t seem important and then switch your feelings around so that your perspective about them both changes. This may be useful to enable you to understand the world from someone else’s viewpoint and thus understand them better. This in turn is useful when you want to change your life so you can make changes that are beneficial to others as much as you.

Stopping something which is unnecessary.

Much of what you do, or at least some of it may not actually be necessary at all. So re-assess all of what you do each day and ask yourself if you need to continue in the same way and what you could stop doing altogether. If you take a metaphorical step back in this way and observe yourself from an outsider’s perspective then you will gain a greater insight into ways you waste time by doing unnecessary tasks.

Coaching can help you take those steps. CLICK HERE

The author emphasises the importance of eating well and exercising regularly as well as relaxing and taking time out for yourself.

Even though you probably know all of this you may not be doing it because you believe it isn’t possible given the circumstances of your life.  It might be the strength of your in-built beliefs which are stopping you from making the changes you would love to make. So  listen to the excuses you make and ask youreself if those statements are really true. You may be surprised to find that in fact they are not always true and if you begin to consider life with those beliefs turned around that you would be able then to make the progress you want and do things differently.

Make the choice to change direction with Coaching

To change your mindset the first thing to do is to say to yourself that you are open to possibilities. Not only that but also that you are willing to change even if at this stage you don’t know how to do so. Say this affirmation in the first person and present tense and repeat it several times every day. Write it on ‘post it’ notes to stick on your computer screen or mirror or car dashboard.

Find and talk to other people who have been in  similar situations to you and have made the changes you want to make and ask them what they did. You may not want to do the same but talking to them can spark other ideas in your head.

Be very sure about what you want to achieve  and set yourself clear goals. Identify the first step you need to take then brainstorm every way you can think of to succeed with  your goal. Don’t edit these ideas, just fill your page with everything you can think of, even the most unlikely idea may have some essence you might be able to tap into.

Most important is not to censor yourself at this stage with comments like: ‘I’d never be able to do that.’ Instead accept that there might be something in any of the ideas you have.

It’s  your internal critic which may have been stopping you making any progress until now.  Relax and let your internal dreamer have its say and tell you ways forward. In order to do this it’s important to take the time to daydream and imagine yourself having achieved what you want and think about what it would be like to be living your desired life. Think about where you would be, who would be with you, what you’d be wearing, what you’d be saying and hearing and how you would be feeling.

You can change your life if you follow these tips for change.

Perhaps you are not one of those people. Perhaps you know what you want and are ready to take action. That is wonderful because when you decide to change your life and take the first tentative step then something magical happens. It’s as if the world itself changes too. People and places seem different from the way they were before and it becomes easier to believe that what you hope for might actually be a possibility. You begin to see your vision getting closer.

During a  time of  life-change it’s motivating and useful to have a mentor or coach,  someone to support you during the time of transition.

Working with a mentor or a coach  is  a good way to reduce overwhelm and procrastination felt by many people when they decide to make changes in their life.

Perhaps you are a mentor or coach.   If so, make sure you work with a mentor or coach yourself because it’s useful to experience for yourself the benefit that mentoring or coaching brings. Everyone benefits, not only your clients but also, most of all, yourself.  You’ll find out at first hand how beneficial it is to have someone to offload and bounce ideas onto and listen to you talk about the things which seem insoluble in your life.

A powerful way to move an idea forward  is by using metaphor to compare something with similar attributes to the subject you are considering.

For example, thinking about the changing seasons of the year is useful in  relation  to how you feel about aspects of your life and may help you understand how the  process for change happens internally1.

If you are considering leaving something you may feel  like Autumn moving towards Winter. Then you may experience a time when outwardly things are dormant and you lack energy and drive. However, inwardly things are happening.
When your Spring arrives you have more energy, new hope. It is a period for growth and anticipation. Quite suddenly,  it seems, you are filled with ideas and energy. You are ready to take the first steps for change.

Finally, you move into Summer and your life is in full bloom again.

Coaching can enable this to happen more quickly. Find out more here.

• It’s not the right time
• I’m not in the right place
• I haven’t got my mind around it yet
• I don’t know how to do it
• Other people won’t like it
• I’m not that sort of person

Do you use any or all of these  as excuses for not doing something? Even though you sound convincing when you tell others what you’d really like to do, or how you hope that someone would be able to improve your current situation you use those reasons to stay stuck in your rut.

What can you do to change this state of affairs and make the changes you’ve been delaying?

You can go through each of your excuses and turn them around so that they become instead reasons why you can succeed and do what you want without any more procrastination. When you do that you will  have affirmations and be on your roadmap for success:

• It’s the right time
• I’m in the right place
• I’ve got my mind around it
• I know what to do
• Whether people like it or not my life is what matters to me
• I can change and be the person who can do it

When you change these statements from negative to positive then your perception of what is possible changes too and you will be able to do what you want to do.

You will be confident that this is the time in your life to do these things so that instead of waiting longer you will begin to clarify your goals and plan your course of action.
You will realise that wherever your location there are ways you can achieve what you want or will work out ways to move into your ideal place.
Your mind will engage with your project so that you find ways to overcome obstacles in order to move forward with your goals.
You will be very clear about the goal you want to achieve and the steps to take towards it.
You are aware of your own needs and wants and make these paramount  and  are able to make your changes into a win-win situation for those others who may be affected.
You are confident that not only can you make the changes you want but also that you can initiate whatever it is that you believe is missing form the situation rather than waiting for others to do it.

The worst thing that you can do is to look back over your life and say “I wish I had done this” or “I wish I had done that”

Creating a vision and a mission of what you want out from your life will provide you with some direction and momentum to move forward.

Do you feel as though you are stuck in a rut or lack some direction and purpose to your life? Are you just drifting along from one day to the next?

What is your life all about?

Do you let events happen to you rather than going out and making them happen?

When you have a compelling vision, you will feel good about yourself. You know where you are going life and have a purpose to it all.

When you feel in control of your life and events you will naturally feel more confident and motivated to achieve more.

The worst thing that you can do is to look back over your life and say “I wish I had done this” or “I wish I had done that”

Creating a vision and a mission of what you want out from your life will provide you with some direction and momentum to move forward.

Do you feel as though you are stuck in a rut or lack some direction and purpose to your life? Are you just drifting along from one day to the next?

What is your life all about?

Do you let events happen to you rather than going out and making them happen?

When you have a compelling vision, you will feel good about yourself. You know where you are going life and have a purpose to it all.

When you feel in control of your life and events you will naturally feel more confident and motivated to achieve more.

Could it be true that your environment can have such an important impact on the success or failure of your plans? The answer is most definitely  a resounding ‘yes’!
Let’s  consider  where you are in the world: are you in an urban or rural place and how would these affect you? Consider how and where you are able to work and concentrate best. You may be someone who needs complete silence or would better benefit form interaction and support from other people around you. You may prefer working in a high rise office block or appreciate being able to get into or go out into fresh air during your day to day activities. This means that id you find yourself in the opposite sort of place than  your ideal that you may not function so well and your achievements can be diminished.

Your physical space is important and can its suitability also depends on the  air temperature and the climate. Consider too the convenience or not of how you reach your place of work or the space where you want to carry out  the changes you want to make.

Not only physical space but you emotional mindset is important too and it’s vital that you are in the right mindset for change. You need to be feeling very positive about the benefits you will experience when you make the changes you want to make so that you can engage in those changes with passion and enthusiasm.

If you mindset is doubtful or actually negative then your chance of success will be severely
reduced.
It helps to get into the right emotional space if you can gain support from at least one person, whether this is a close friend or family member or someone who you’ve not met before such as a coach or a mentor.
People sometimes their failure to succeed with the statement that they were not ‘in the right place’ at the time. So this an important factor for success. If you really want to succeed and have failed to do so until now then consider going to another place, whether that is a big as another country or as small as going into another room in the same building, or changing the arrangement of the furniture in the same room.