How to Train Yourself to Just Do It - Overcoming Fear & Resistance with Difficult or Creative Tasks

Summary

The speaker reflects on a universal struggle with procrastination in both personal and professional contexts, particularly when facing daunting tasks or difficult conversations. They discuss the challenge of initiating creative work, expressing admiration for those who can quickly dive into tasks, while also recognizing the value of letting ideas simmer to enhance creativity and insight. The speaker offers a nuanced perspective on managing procrastination and fear, suggesting a step-by-step approach that includes acknowledging fear, self-forgiveness, and taking small, actionable steps despite fear's presence. This method emphasizes the importance of celebrating these steps and allowing for rewards, underlining the idea that overcoming procrastination is a gradual process that requires practice and self-compassion.

Takeaways

• 🎶 Procrastination and avoidance of challenging tasks is a common experience in both personal and professional life.
• 📝 Tackling difficult tasks, such as writing proposals or having tough conversations, is essential but often delayed.
• 🤩 Envy towards colleagues who can quickly start and complete tasks highlights personal struggles with procrastination.
• 🔔 Allowing ideas to sit and develop over time can lead to high-quality, creative work, demonstrating the value of patience.
• 💦 Insightful ideas often emerge subconsciously during routine activities, suggesting the mind works on problems in the background.
• 🧘 Intuition is described as the universe's creative language, guiding individuals towards innovative solutions.
• 🙏 Acknowledging and forgiving oneself for procrastination due to fear is a critical step towards overcoming it.
• 👍 Emphasizing that fear is a natural part of life and not a flaw helps in managing procrastination.
• 📌 Taking the first step, despite fear, involves simple actions like creating a new document or composing an email.
• 🎉 Rewarding oneself for taking initial steps, regardless of the outcome, encourages further progress against procrastination.
• 🔥 Building momentum from small victories can lead to tackling larger tasks and gradually easing the process of overcoming creative blocks.

Q & A

What is a common challenge the speaker faces in both personal and work life?

The speaker often finds themselves avoiding important tasks and taking the easier path instead of addressing essential but difficult tasks.

How does the speaker view the relationship between creativity and overcoming procrastination?

The speaker believes that higher creativity standards and refined tastes make it more challenging to start or finish tasks, mainly due to fear of failure or underperformance.

What does the speaker envy about their colleagues?

The speaker envies colleagues who can quickly start and complete tasks without procrastination, especially tasks that require significant strategic thinking.

Why does the speaker ultimately not want to swap places with their more decisive colleagues?

The speaker recognizes the value in letting ideas and problems marinate, as time and reflection often lead to more insightful and creative solutions.

How does the speaker suggest our minds work on problems subconsciously?

The speaker suggests that our minds process and solve problems subconsciously, often leading to breakthroughs during moments of relaxation or unrelated activities.

What is intuition described as in the script?

Intuition is described as the creative language of the universe, implying it's a powerful tool for finding creative solutions.

What steps does the speaker recommend for overcoming procrastination due to fear?

Recognize the fear, forgive yourself, understand fear is normal, get to the root of the fear without judgment, and take the first step despite the fear.

What is the significance of taking the first step in overcoming procrastination, according to the speaker?

Taking the first step is crucial because it represents overcoming fear and inertia, even if the step is small, like creating a new document or drafting an email.

How does the speaker suggest rewarding oneself after taking the first step?

The speaker suggests rewarding oneself with something they love, even if the reward seems disproportionately large compared to the effort.

Does the speaker believe that the challenge of procrastination ever completely goes away?

No, the speaker believes that while it never completely goes away, it's possible to make progress and it gets slightly easier with practice.