End Procrastination and Self-Sabotage

Welcome back ...

I'm Kam Knight, coach, international speaker, and author of a dozen books in the area of mental, physical, and emotional performance.

And in this guide, I'm going to reveal the secret behind your procrastination & self-sabotage.

Though know...

Your mind and body are EXTREMELY complex

That means, there are complex reasons why you procrastinate or are not able to take action.

So, it's important to understand this complexity.

If the fix were simple, you would've come across it already, and already be using it.

Since you haven't or aren't, means there is more going on than what traditional self-help and personal development have led you to believe.

But...

Not to worry

I'll still offer a simple tip that can create the progress you're seeking.

It's one of the easiest tips I've found that, if applied consistently, can have a big shift in your progress.

That means taking more action, especially in the moments that matter most.

To start, know that....

The part of your brain that creates wants and desires

Works separately and independent of the part that allows you to act on those desires.

So, you have one part of your brain that creates wants.

And a completely different part that allows you to act on those wants.

So, it's possible for your brain to both create a desire for something, and at the same time, keep you from going after it.

And...

That's what procrastination and sabotage really are!

They are a part of your brain NOT giving the green light to go after a desire or outcome.

Interestingly enough, BOTH PARTS can get in your way!

The part that creates wants can get in the way, as well as the part that holds you back from those wants.

And in this guide, you'll learn how both your wants and resistance hold you back.

1. Wants

Let's first start with your wants.

It's hard to imagine, but many of your challenges in life actually come from your desires.

That’s right!

Your challenge to doing what you want comes from the want itself!

That's because...

The part of your brain that creates wants and desires

Is completely unrestrained.

It’s creating wants one after another.

The only job of this part of the brain, which I call the wanting mechanism, is to create wants.

And it's cranking out endless wants and desires - day in and day out - at a pace faster than you can achieve.

You can think of your wanting mechanism like a simple on-off switch

It gets flipped based on certain cues:

- It sees a new pair of shoes, and wants it

- The latest iPhone comes out, it wants that too

- Someone attractive walks by, and it wants that as well

This switch creates so many wants in a single day

You don't have the time or energy to achieve in a lifetime.

Even if you lived multiple lives, you couldn't achieve all the wants your brain is producing.

Let alone enjoy them.

That’s because...

Your wanting mechanism DOESN'T understand

Your time, energy, and resources are limited.

It simply creates wants.

Nor does it check to see if your want is achievable.

It simply creates wants.

Even while you’re working on one want, your mechanism is creating other wants to chase.

The wanting mechanism is the reason:

- You buy stuff you DON'T need

- Crave things that AREN'T fulfilling

- And the reason people cheat when they’re already in a relationship

It’s also the reason why it’s so hard to do your work.

This mechanism pulls you in so many directions, it’s difficult to stick with any one.

Though...

This is just ONE challenge of your wants

There are many other challenges the wanting mechanism creates - too many to go over in a single guide.

What's important to know is your own wants can be the very thing that keeps you procrastinating and sabotaging on them.

So, this is one way procrastination and self-sabotage show up - from your wants.

Another way is...

2. Resistance

As you learned...

The part of your brain that creates wants works separately from the part that actually allows you to act on that want.

So, anytime you have a want or desire, that desire is reviewed by this part of the brain, which I call resistance.

If resistance doesn't give the green light, you can't act!

Now...

Resistance looks at many criteria to decide whether to let you do something

It helps to think about standing before a panel of judges or board of directors.

Every decision that comes up, must go through them.

If even one of the members is against the idea, it won’t pass.

So, each member is like a criteria the brain evaluates to see if you should do it.

One of the criteria involves identity

We humans are designed to operate within the confines of the identity we have formed or accepted.

The means, your mind will make it easier to do something if it is in line with your identity, and more difficult, if it goes against your identity.

So, if you have an identity of being a writer, resistance will make it easier to write.

If your identity is "I’m a speaker," resistance will make it easier to present and speak.

If your identity is not aligned with writing or speaking, resistance will make it difficult to do either.

No matter how much you want to, you can't.

To illustrate...

A good friend growing up had an identity of being athletic

As a result it was easy for him to work out, exercise, and even eat well.

Unfortunately, that identity was not inline with being studious.

So, he had a difficult time studying.

No matter how much he tried or wanted to study and get good grades, he couldn't.

Resistance made it difficult for him, always pulling him away with things that aligned with his identity, like sports and other activities.

It's hard to imagine, but your own brain can hold you back and keep you from making progress.

Though...

This is just one criteria the mind evaluates

There are many other criteria - again too much to go into in this one guide.

What’s important to know here is, it doesn’t matter how much you want to do something, how simple the solution is, or even how much benefit you will gain, resistance will prevent you from doing it.

This is another way procrastination & self-sabotage show up - from resistance.

Another way is from the…

3. Tricks

When resistance stops you from doing something, it doesn’t tell you that it's stopping you or give you a reason.

For example, if identity is the culprit, resistance won't say, “Hey, this goal of yours might threaten the identity we're trying to uphold, so I can’t let you do it.”

Nope...

In action manifests other ways!

Your brain uses manipulative tricks to keep you from taking action.

And it has many tricks up its sleeve to keep you from taking action.

One of the tricks is...

You'll fall into a heightened sense of planning

That is...instead of spending time to take action, you'll spend all your time planning to take action.

You’ll read loads of books, watch tons of videos, sign up for various courses.

You'll even go into painstaking detail figuring out what to do, how to do it, and the best way to do it.

To illustrate...

I’ll share a story about an ex-coworker Loretta

One summer she set a goal to lose weight, get healthy, and become fit.

Before getting started, she wanted to make sure she was "prepared" for the goal.

And boy did she prepare!

She searched for the perfect gym that was both close to her house and had all the amenities she wanted.

She learned all the exercises and routines and their proper form and execution.

She even researched the best diet and nutrition.

Before doing a single workout

Loretta gained enough knowledge to essentially become a personal trainer.

And before doing a single workout, summer was over.

She spent all her time preparing to work out, but didn't spend any time actually working out.

Obviously, she didn't achieve her goal of losing weight.

Resistance was stringing her along like a puppet giving the illusion of progress, without actually creating progress.

Whats worse...

Even when you complete the plan

You still don't feel ready.

And guess what you’ll do?

Either plan more or jump to another goal or project.

Though...

This is just one trick of your resistance

There are many more tricks resistance uses to stop you - once more, too many to cover at this time.

The thing to know here is, resistance doesn't tell you when it's stopping you, instead it uses manipulative tricks that give the illusion of progress, but only spin you in circles.

You wouldn't think of them as tricks, which is why they work so well and why we so easily fall for them.

By now you understand....

There's more to your procrastination and self-sabotage than you thought!

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, you are your own worst enemy.

Well, resistance is that enemy that stops you!

So anytime you find yourself procrastinating, self-sabotaging, or not able to do that thing, it's not really your fault.

You have a part of the brain that is designed to stop you, and as you saw, it's really good at stopping you.

What is the...

4. Solution

The human mind and body are complex.

So it helps to understand your wants, other causes of resistance, and be aware of how the tricks are showing up.

As you can imagine, that's not always easy.

Though, I found one way that is easy.

And...

It's with the following statement

It’s taken me 15 years and traveling to 100 countries to narrow it down to this one statement.

It’s a powerful statement that rewires your brain to create more focused, productive action.

Where the action is easy and natural to do.

Those who repeat it regularly have made massive shifts.

Would you like to know this statement?

It's...

I'm a do it now person, I easily do things now, I easily accomplish my goals right away

There is a lot of psychology behind why this statement works so well!

1. The first part of the statement - I'm a do it now person - creates an identity that your a person that does things now.

So, anytime you want to do something, resistance goes, "well, I’m a do it now person, so it lets you do it."

Now doing things is not always fun or easy, but awkward and painful.

So...

2. The second part of the statement - I easily do things now - makes the action easier and more pleasant.

You're not straining to do things.

Instead, it's a more enjoyable experience.

And...

3. The last part - I easily accomplish my goals right away - makes sure you are taking forward moving action.

As you learned, the wanting mechanism can pull you in all sorts of directions.

So you can do a lot of things, but just spin in circles.

This last part of the statement ensures you actions have focus and direction so you are making progress.

I recommend repeating the above statement daily

You can repeat it:

When waking up in the morning
As you’re going to bed in the evening
Cooking
Cleaning
Driving
Or all of the above.

You can repeat it in your head or out loud, though doing it out loud is better.

The more you repeat, the more you’ll start acting out what the words describe.

In fact...

Success doesn't happen by doing something one time.

It is achieved by doing something over and over.

This statement is one of the simplest thing you can do to get massive results.

I hope you found this guide helpful

And it opened your eyes to how deep your procrastination and self-sabotage go.

Even if I gave you the best tools in the world, the tricks of resistance would keep you from using them.

In fact, you've already come across plenty of tools in your life

You're just not using them.

You're not using them because it was never about the tools.

It's about understanding why your brain is keeping you from using the tools in the first place.

Once you understand that, the tools become easier to use.