Many of us are reflecting on those New Year resolutions and what’s possible. Here’s a quick question for you to consider:

“Do you prefer the pain of discipline or regret?”

Research shows that we regret those things we have not done MORE than we do the things we have done. Can you relate?

What I’ve experienced personally and observed in others is that procrastination blocks us from creating the business and life we want to the fullest. You already know that we procrastinate because taking action can cause us a certain amount of “pain, a certain amount of discomfort.”

Coaching clients have shared with me the following:

“I avoid undertaking certain tasks because of the risk of shame, vulnerability, or failure.”

Taking action means we might be making a mistake, or we might fail. Let’s face it, it’s easier to not take action and avoid the pain of looking less than perfect. Thus, many instinctively retreat to their comfort zone and miss creating their ideal business. In trying to protect ourselves from failure, erecting our own barriers to success is easier. Can you relate? If you’ve ever been in this place – as I have – how do you get out?

Psychologists call this a strategy of self-sabotaging. Research shows that we protect our sense of self-competence by creating impediments that make success less likely. And believe it or not, we as humans tend to do this more when the stakes are the highest.

So how do we procrastinate less and take action more?

Practice… practice taking action faster and more often. Get an accountability partner and join a mastermind group. By taking more small steps that lead to more significant steps, you’ll build the “take action muscle.” By creating an accountability partner and mastermind group, you’ll have others who can help you discern what is an excuse and what’s not.

Consider these 5 action steps:

1. Remember, a goal is NOT a system. A system will produce what a system will produce nothing less, nothing more. For example, losing 10 pounds by September 1st is a GOAL, and learning to change your eating habits is a SYSTEM.
2. Make your goal tangible and specific. “Grow my business” sounds great but is also meaningless.” Land five new clients a month” allows you to determine exactly what you need to do to land those clients. Always set a goal that allows you to work backward and create a process to achieve it. It’s impossible to know exactly what to do every day when you don’t know exactly what you want to achieve.
3. Make it matter to you! If you want to get in better shape, so other people will think you look better at the pool this summer, you’re unlikely to follow through. Ultimately, who cares what other people think? Yet, if you want to get in better shape because you want to feel better, feel better about yourself, set an example for your kids, or prove something to yourself, then you’re much more likely to stick with it. Now your goal has meaning–not to your doctor, not to strangers at the pool, but to you.
4. Make it positive. “Stop criticizing other people in meetings” is a great goal, but it’s a negative goal. It’s much harder to give up or stop doing something than to embrace a new and positive challenge. For example, setting a goal like” stop eating sweets” means you constantly have to choose to avoid temptation. Since willpower is often a finite resource, why put yourself in a position of continually needing to choose? When you pick positive goals, you’ll work to become something new rather than avoid being something you no longer wish to be.
5. Focus on the process, the DAILY process. All incredibly successful people I’ve worked with have one thing in common… they set a goal and then focus all their attention on the process necessary to achieve that goal. Sure, the goal is still out there. But what they care about most is what they need to do today, and when they accomplish that, they feel happy about today.

So, I’ll ask again, do you prefer the pain of discipline OR the pain of regret? The choice is yours.

#WinTheDay