Life Skills Explorations

Many entrepreneurs, especially those of us who run our own business from home, such as in network marketing, must be especially wary to avoid falling into the trap of procrastination. We can find all kinds of things to do instead while putting off working our business.

Procrastination affects all of us to some degree. With some it is a minor problem while with others procrastination is a source of considerable stress and anxiety. Instead of working our business, we're "farting around", putting off doing what we know we need to do to achieve success in our business.

Network marketers sometimes procrastinate and put off important activities like prospecting, marketing, getting that meeting flyer out, making phone calls, or making presentations. It can seem perfectly rational to decide that creating that FaceBook fan page we need can wait for awhile. The same thing goes for attending that weekly meeting or writing that blog article we've been thinking about.

The only person who ever made money by "farting around" was Joseph Pujol, a Frenchman known as Le Petomane, which translates roughly to "fartiste". He could pass wind at will and vary the sound of his "fart impressions". He became the toast of France performing on stage for the first time in Marseilles in 1887, and going on to Paris where he performed at the Moulin Rouge.

For us others, unfortunately "farting around" by procrastinating will make us broke rather than rich and famous.

What causes us to procrastinate?

There can be several reasons for procrastination such as:

* Difficult - The task may seem hard to do. In this case we naturally tend to avoid difficult things, doing instead things that seem easy to us.

* Lack of Knowledge or Skills - We believe we have a lack of knowledge or skills. No one wants to make mistakes, so we wait until we learn how before we start.

* Time-consuming - The task will take large blocks of time, and large blocks of time won't be available until the weekend.

* Fears - A fear that if we mess up, everyone will know how we screwed up.

* Perfectionism - We're perfectionists. We have unrealistically high expectations and standards. This may be either imposed or self-imposed. Perfectionists are long on criticism and short on praise.

* Anger, Hostility - Anger or hostility may cause procrastination. These types of feelings can cause a person to withhold their best efforts.

* Self-Downing - Poor self-concept can cause us to minimize our own skills and abilities and express doubt about our ability to succeed. When things go right for us we sometimes put ourselves down by attributing our success to "dumb luck".

* Low Frustration Tolerance - If we have a low tolerance for frustration, circumstances can overwhelm us easily. This situation is characterized by complaining and such phrases as "it isn't fair", "this is too hard", and "no one else has to". These feelings make it seem reasonable to put off doing that has to be done until we feel better about it.

How does procrastination work?

* First of all there's an event which activates our procrastination. This is the task that we are putting off, for example preparations for a booth at a tradeshow or preparing remarks for the monthly Chamber of Commerce meeting.

* Our belief system (our hidden feelings about the task) controls our response. If we have negative feelings this decreases our motivation and we tend to put off or delay.

* The response is what we actually do. A rational response is to recognize why we feel the way we do and recognizing the importance of the task, get going. An irrational response is to come up with "excuses" why it's best to procrastinate.

Procrastination is habit forming. Every time we delay, it reinforces our negative attitude toward the task. Procrastination strengthens our habit of not doing. We begin to practice avoidance instead of participation. We avoid acquiring training and skills, and we start believing our fears.

How can we cure procrastination?

To cure our procrastination we have to:

* Realize that we are delaying doing something unnecessarily.

* Discover the real reasons for our delay. (Make a list of the reasons.)

* Engage in vigorous self-talk and dispute those real reasons and overcome them.

* Stop "farting around" and BEGIN the task.

Those that insist on continuing to "fart around" may take some comfort from the fact that farting seems to be coming back in vogue, and they may face less criticism for "farting around". It's been a popular part of humor in Disney kids movies like "Shrek" for several years now, and even on primetime television.

In the recent 2011 Kids' Choice Awards on Nickelodeon, award nominees like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Johnny Depp, Big Time Rush, and Miley Cyrus shared the stage with nominees for the "Arm Fart Hall of Fame". That's great news for procrastinators.

In the end however, each of us has to decide whether we want to be more like the diligent ant or the procrastinating grasshopper in the fable "The Ant And The Grasshopper".

About the Author:

Gerald L. Hoffmann

The author writes about achieving vibrant physical and financial health at his blog Vibrant Health World. Stop in for more information on business and leadership and pick up our 10 Steps To Health and Wellness Guide.

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