Plan Of Action For Procrastination
Discovery of 2024: The reason I procrastinate on something super important to me is both shocking, and trivial, and sad.
Fear.
The more transformative I find the action ->
-> The more I am afraid.
-> The more I sabotage myself by finding other "important" things to do, "forgetting", postponing, etc.
My fears are abundant and curious:
- Fear of going public with my thoughts.
- Fear of bothering people.
- Fear of:
People hating what I do.
People not caring for what I do.
People loving what I do.
On Earth, Mayya, how can you be afraid of 3 diametrically opposite outcomes?
Here is my super-duper-scientific Plan of Action for procrastination:
1) Fear Journal.
Fears look much sillier and smaller when they live on paper instead of in my subconsciousness.
2) Impostor Syndrome.
Mayya, sunshine, your work is not about you.
Your courses, books, articles, recordings are not about you.
It is about the people you serve and who find value in what you teach.
By not putting yourself out there, you are betraying your purpose—the reason you came here on Earth in the first place. No bueno!
3) Self-compassion Meditation
Meditating on holding a part of me that is vulnerable and skittish in a warm embrace of, "I am with you no matter what."
4) "I can handle it"
Responding to all the irrational fears with "I can handle it" phrase.
Repeating it minute after minute after minute.
Until it is the only phrase running in my head, and it becomes my essence.
5) Radical Simplification
What is the simplest way to do something I am afraid to do?
Often, I needlessly overcomplicate things, and that deters me.
Simplify, simplify, simplify!
6) Take One Ridiculously Small Step:
- Buy a new notebook for your plans (or fears)
- Order one book on something you want to learn but are afraid of.
- Talk to someone about your fears
- Write an article on LinkedIn about your fears, lol.
7) When everything fails, think -> CAKE!
Get yourself a nice yummy bribe and eat it after you finish your Ridiculously Small Step.
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My life transitions included:
- Coming to the US from Siberia, Russia.
- Pivoting from a career in academia as a scientist to medical writing in biotech.
- Leaving cozy life in corporate to be an Executive Director of a meditation school.
- Becoming a consultant and a meditation teacher to biotech.
One would think I pivoted a lot, yet I am always afraid of something new I want to do.
And I can't afford to let it stop me.
1. Feel the fear.
2. Face it.
3. Do it anyway.
4. Repeat.
If you are not afraid, you are not growing.
P.P.S. I'd like to create a Meditation for Becoming Fearless workshop.
Before I offer it to organizations, I will beta-test it on some listeners. If you want to participate in this free workshop, comment below with "interested" or send me a DM, and I will add you to the wait list.