Forgive Yourself For Procrastinating

It’s not too late to turn things around and salvage this year. Maybe you’ve lost motivation or have procrastinated on starting your life-changing goals. If so, so what? It’s no big deal. Get up and get going because life does not wait! 

Many of us put things off. And if that sounds like you, don’t beat yourself up for getting a slow start. The last thing you should do is identify yourself with something that disempowers you. So you’re not a procrastinator; you’re someone who never gives up!

If you’re ready to make this a great year and to make the most of the remaining months (we still have three seasons ahead of us, by the way – there’s a LOT of time left in 2024), then you’re in the right place. 

People punish themselves for procrastinating and putting things off. That ends today. How? By forgiving yourself.

It might seem like a strange place to start, but forgiving yourself must be the first step because you’re the only one who can give yourself a clean slate and a fresh start. 

The Way It Is…

You can’t do anything about the past except learn from it. Beating yourself up for not following through on your goals and plans or calling yourself ugly names for not even getting off the starting blocks is pointless. 

You’re in a war with yourself that you will IF you don’t give up.

Stop Stressing…

Stressing about what you could’ve done by now had you started or followed through or engaging in negative, disempowering, self-limiting self-talk is the worst thing you can do. Why? Because ALL of that negativity reinforces your habit of putting things off until tomorrow. 

Acknowledge Procrastination…

Get friendly with procrastination the next time it happens. Take a few minutes to evaluate why you might be procrastinating because maybe delayed action is protecting you from making a mistake. Get curious about it. Thank procrastination for stopping by, and then tell it “goodbye” because you have work to do and dreams to make happen.

Procrastination isn’t the end of the world. You’re learning a learned skill – the habit of taking prompt action and following through. Take action, no matter how small, because it gives you momentum and weakens the power of procrastination. Expect this to happen a few times. Just repeat the process because this is how you become a person of strength and action; keep going.

You might be frustrated by your slow progress. But so what? You’re making progress! Someone said, “Forward is progress.” And sooner or later, you will reach the finish line! All of this is normal because you’re learning to “walk.”

Let Frustration Motivate You!

You will reach the point where you’ll be so frustrated that you’ll have had enough! Make frustration serve you. Let it stoke the inner fire of motivation. Step up and say commit to doing better next time. Examine your setbacks, failures, and mistakes to learn what caused you to procrastinate this time. Learn, adjust, improve, and perform better next time. 

For example, maybe you have a big goal to achieve with many smaller tasks. You threw yourself into it, started crossing tasks off, and made great progress, but then you missed a day. That’s okay. It’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. Honor how well you did. And then learn where things went off the rails and fix it. Or, maybe you discovered your pace was too intense or unreasonable and that occasionally missing a day or taking a day off is good!

Set Yourself Up For Success

As long as there’s breath in your lungs, you’re in a life-long learning process; there’s always something new to learn or discover; it’s what makes life exciting and fulfilling! And if you slip back into a bad habit, maybe it’s an opportunity to see what’s not working or that it’s time to try a new and better approach to ensure greater success. Perhaps it’s as simple as adopting a healthier pace with fewer to-dos on your daily list. Or maybe you’re not pushing yourself hard enough, or you get bored quickly and need a lot of items to check off because it gives you such an incredible feeling of accomplishment. 

Be Kind To Yourself…

Life is tough enough without you coming down hard on yourself and beating yourself up for not getting things done. The world can be harsh; why pile on more misery? So, remind yourself that today is a new day… a fresh start… a new beginning.

Forgive yourself for procrastinating, take a deep breath, collect your thoughts, and get back to work, unlocking your best life. Life doesn’t wait. And neither should you.