Procrastination is something that I found very common in corporate life and government. It appears less prevalent in small business particularly from business owners who know you have to ship something, achieve a result or deliver an outcome to survive and ultimately thrive.
Putting things off, not making decisions combined with not wanting to put yourself out there for others to critique or judge what we have done, our work, our passion. It is an affliction that appears to tug at the core of many people who have been driven in the past to achieve great things. Others have never got to the start line to put something out there.
I believe that this is driven by the root cause of the fear of success or the fear of failure. That is, what will people think of my work? How will they perceive what I have done? I wonder if this is perfect? I won’t put it out there will I until it is just right? This external validation drives a good many people from getting on with it and means they spend a large percentage of their precious time on polishing work more and more which adds very little or adds marginal value to the end outcome.
If you are a brain surgeon, rocket scientist or in an industry where getting it perfect is important, I understand how there may be exceptions. However, very few of us work in these professions.
Next time you are procrastinating, perhaps ask why? Why am I holding back? What is my fear of putting this work out there? Why don’t want I want to make that call to a client who wants to work with me or wants to hear from me? Who am I worried about pleasing?
The pursuit of your goals and targets is something we should all strive for. This happens through making things happen, having a bias for action and accepting that failure provides feedback. Don’t hold back the best of you because of your fears. Put it out there, gain the feedback and deliver the outcomes. The success you deserve will follow.