Do you always tell yourself that you’ll get started on your big plans at some future date? That you’ll finally get around to starting that business after the kids graduate from college? Or, maybe you’ll just wait until after Memorial Day to begin that new exercise program.
No shame in your game… we’ve all done it! There always seems to be a good reason not to get started right here and now. Putting things off is easy. It relieves the burden from you to execute. To grow. To change your ways.
Instead of your challenge, it becomes something for future you to figure out. The only problem with that is that you’re building a habit of not following thru on what you say you want. And the more you do that, the less you believe you.
Even worse, the less you believe in you.
If you’ve been putting your dreams and goals on hold, I want you to ask yourself why. Are you sure you know the real reason you’re waiting? The most likely culprit is that you’re procrastination on pursuing your dreams and waiting to begin because you simply aren’t clear on what you want.
Or, maybe you’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.
If you find yourself constantly procrastinating on pursuing your goals and dreams, think about why that’s happening.
Is this why you’re still waiting to get started on your dreams?
1. You’re waiting for the perfect time.
Are you waiting for the stars to align and the heavens to tap you on the shoulder and give you permission? You’ll be waiting for a long time. The time will never be perfect to get started on something significant. The only person who needs to give you permission is you. Just. Get. Started.
2. You’re waiting for something else to happen first.
Maybe you’re waiting for the kids to move out or for the mortgage to be paid off. Or you’re waiting until your next promotion. Or you’re waiting until the world “gets back to normal”. There’s always going to be a less than ideal circumstance at play. Stop letting that hold you back.
3. You’re waiting until you have more money.
Regardless of your budget, there’s something you can do to get started today. Even if it’s just doing research and learning new skills, you can do something. There’s never going to be “enough” money. Trust that you’ll find the money you need along the way.
4. You’re waiting for Monday, or the first of the month, or the first of the year.
So many people wait until Monday to start a diet, or the first of the month to begin an exercise routine, or the first of the year to set goals. There’s nothing magical about any date on the calendar. The calendar is a man-made invention. There’s no reason to be bound by it.
Will you get more accomplished if you start today or wait three weeks?
5. You’re waiting until you know more.
Some people believe they need to know every shred of information related to their quest before they can get started. This simply isn’t true. It’s a procrastination technique. You don’t need to know a lot to begin. To take it step further, you can only learn but so much before you hit a wall. At a certain point you have to move forward and start implementing your knowledge before you’ll be able to learn anything else new.
6. You don’t really think you’ll be successful.
It makes sense that you won’t get started if you believe you can’t be successful. This is a sign that you might need to start with a smaller objective. A perfect goal is one that you believe you can achieve that also excites and stretches you.
In this case, address the underlying mindset blocks and limiting beliefs instead of stalling.
7. You’re afraid you will be successful.
Many people are afraid of success. They’re comfortable with their current situation, even if they don’t like it. They would rather have predictable discontent than uncertain success. There’s no way to predict 100% what your life will be like if you’re successful. But remember that everything you want is on the other side of fear.
Focus on the positive aspects of achieving success. List out all of the benefits and visualize yourself enjoying those benefits.
8. You’re scared.
Speaking of fear… I bet that if you’re honest with yourself, fear is the most likely reason you’re postponing the pursuit of your dreams. Whether you dread the feeling of being hungry on a diet, sweating on a treadmill, or making a fool out of yourself with a failed business, you’re simply afraid.
Make yourself more afraid of doing nothing. Imagine how terrible it would be to waste your potential. Think about how unfulfilled you would be to never push yourself or to never have a chance of living your dreams.
In most cases, it’s better to get started immediately, rather than waiting for just the right time and circumstance to get started. Even a little progress is better than no progress…. as my friends over at Cultivate What Matters say: Little by little, progress adds up. Have faith in yourself and jump in with both feet.
You can’t be successful if you don’t get started! So break free of what’s holding you back and take a step forward today. Your dreams are waiting for you.
Comments 19
Success is really something you can pursue any time. There are so many great ways to work on bettering your life.
It’s tough taking risks, but the higher the risk the higher the reward.
Yup, these are all true for me. Mostly the scared one. And sometimes the money one as well.
Hands up this post resonated with me, so often I hold myself back from doing things because of what ifs, or I am scared.
This post is really inspiring. It’s so important to go after your dreams.
I definitely have some limiting beliefs about success and money but I am trying to work on them!
It is just normal to be scared but one cannot succeed without starting anything. Thanks for this post, worth sharing!
I couldn’t agree with you more. Like Nike said, Just Do It. I finally caved and took action but the main thing that held me back was the fear failure.
Yes! There are always something that makes us to postpone our dreams!
I’m pretty sure that I’ve held myself back multiple times using some of these tactics in recent years. I need to stop sabotaging myself.
One step at a time is what I’ve learned to move towards fulfilling my dreams. You are right, it is scary and there is no perfection, other than one foot in front of the other and march on!
Nice article and I think these are the main reasons why other people are not successful with their dreams.
Waiting for a signs or waiting to have a lot of money can’t help us to succeed if we are not able to start it when it will be?
I can totally relate to this, sometimes we tend to act immediately
Yes, it’s scary. When I feel scared I listen to podcasts by people I admire who are actively and aggressively following their dreams.
This is very motivational. Sometimes the fear of being unsuccessful holds people back but like you said break free of what holding you back and stat making those dreams come true.
Thank you for these great ideas and tips. Learned so much from this.
These are such great points! You cannot wait for the perfect time to follow your dreams. There never is a perfect time, the time is now!
I think I tend toward a mixture of 5-7! I grew up with a lot of limiting beliefs about money that i’m trying to work through.
So many ideas that have come to me about not fulfilling my dreams. They are all procrastination and I have to keep my goals in mind to achieve them.