#24 How to Stop Procrastinating and Overcome Resistance in 3 Steps

Siim Land (0:01)

Why do I procrastinate?

SPEAKER_2 (0:04)

Why?

Siim Land (0:04)

I just can't stop doing it. Why don't I do the things I know I need to do?

SPEAKER_3 (0:12)

Why?

Siim Land (0:13)

Why do I push them off?

SPEAKER_3 (0:14)

Why?

Siim Land (0:15)

Why am I so goddamn lazy?

Does that sound familiar? Yes. Of course it does, everyone has experienced it. It's the impeding feeling of resistance and procrastination.

SPEAKER_4 (0:28)

We meet again.

Siim Land (0:30)

Welcome to the Body Mind Empowerment Podcast. I'm your host Siim Land. This episode is just for you if you're struggling with procrastination. I'm going to tell you how to stop procrastinating in 3 simple steps.

It's really that simple. So let's delve into the world of slacking off.

Steven Pressfield (0:49)

What it is.

Siim Land (0:50)

Body Mind Empowerment.

SPEAKER_4 (0:52)

Get stronger, faster, smarter, quicker, friendlier, more helpful, more driven.

Siim Land (0:58)

Everything the body needs.

SPEAKER_4 (1:00)

Control your mind.

Siim Land (1:03)

So you set yourself these ambitious goals that you're going to go get after. You feel inspired and motivated, but all that is standing between you and your end results is this massive chasm, this grand canyon of action, huge pitfall where you have to put in the effort, do the hard work, sweat your ass off and overcome your procrastination. There is no shortcut.

You have to do the work. You have to take action on the small milestones that are going to get you the results that you desire. But despite how glittering your end goal is, how motivated you feel about it, you still can't seem to overcome this overwhelming feeling of resistance. What's even worse, you feel procrastination eating you alive from the inside out.

That's how you know you're procrastinating in the first place. You have this urge that says, I know I should be doing something, but there is something that's stopping me. Steven Pressfield calls this invisible force Resistance with a capital R.

SPEAKER_2 (2:12)

That coming off of that blank page is this force, a negative force, just like Patea Cold Shower to go for runs. It says, no, no, no, no. And it comes up with a million reasons why you shouldn't do that, right?

And finally, I just realized, it's not me, it's not me that's thinking that thought, it's this force called Resistance with a capital R.

Siim Land (2:32)

In his book The War of Art, he talks about how many artists, creatives, athletes, and every other person alive experiences this turmoil.

Steven Pressfield (2:42)

Most of us have two lives, the life we live and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.

Siim Land (2:51)

We all get moments where we hesitate, where we doubt our actions, where we procrastinate, where we lose our focus. The difference between those who get things done and those who simply dream about their goals is taking action in spite of Resistance.

SPEAKER_2 (3:07)

Because you have to defeat it. There's no way to fake your way around it.

You know, as a writer or an artist is trying to put something on the page, you just gotta make yourself, just like you used to, you gotta make yourself, get down there and do it.

Siim Land (3:19)

Resistance and fear are never gonna go away, just your ability to deal with it improves. You just get better at dealing with it. You ignore the fear and do it anyway.

Steven Pressfield (3:29)

Resistance is infallible, like a magnetized needle floating on a surface of oil. Resistance will unfailingly point to true north, meaning that calling or action it most wants to stop us from doing. We can use this. We can use it as a compass.

Rule of thumb, the more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.

Siim Land (3:54)

Procrastination is subliminal to resistance. Resistance can come to us in any area of life and prevent us from taking action mercilessly.

You get scared, make judgements, push things off, get stuck in paralysis by analysis, deliberately lose your focus and do whatever it takes to avoid doing the thing you're supposed to do. So how do you stop this train wreck of procrastination before it drags you down into the abyss? If you're not feeling motivated enough by your goals, that you would simply do it anyway, then I think you should re-evaluate your goals and take a look at whether or not you actually want what you say you want. Because let's be honest, it would be much easier for you to set those goals that you're going to actually achieve. However, feeling motivated and inspired is not enough. Motivation is a privilege, but not a necessity. What you need is discipline.