Later

I don’t like this word. In the past, I used it often. I’ll do that later. I’ll figure that out later. I’ll make that phone call later. I’ll talk to them later. I’ll start writing my book later. Etc.

Do you use “Later” more than you’d like?

Leaving things for later, is quite often too late.

We tend to leave so many things pending. In the meantime, responsibilities, relationships, goals, finances, decisions, desires build up and when this happens, we’re left feeling anxious, worried, afraid, and more importantly, how we see ourselves and what we feel about ourselves is affected.

Frequently the reason why we leave things for later is because:

·      We don’t want to make the decision to do whatever now.

·      We don’t want to feel the uncomfortable emotions of doing that thing that we’ve been avoiding.

·      We want to feel motivated to get started.

·      We overestimate or underestimate how long it will take us to complete tasks.

·      We don’t know what needs to be done or how it needs to be done.

·      We’ve gotten used to leaving things till the last minute.

·      We overthink things too much and we assume negative outcomes.

All of this delays the process of moving closer to doing what we know we need to be doing.

Do any of these sound familiar to you?

So what do we do?

1.     Know that we have the power to change things for ourselves by doing one small, and yet, significant thing…DECIDE. It’s never too late to simply decide to take action.

2.     Take action. We can decide but if we don’t act on our decision, nothing happens or changes.

3.     Break down what you’ll be taking action on into small manageable tasks so it doesn’t seem overwhelming.

4.     Celebrate completion of these small tasks and feel good about yourself.

5.     Don’t stop. Keep going on to the next small and manageable task.

With Faith, Humility, and Courage…

Jacqueline