Category Archives: Procrastination

Anxiety Relief, Getting things done, Overwhelm, PEP Videos, Positive Energy Psychology PEP, Procrastination, Videos

Video: PEP for getting everything done and enjoying the process as you do

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This a wonderful video to watch when you’re feeling overloaded by your giant to-do list and you just want to relax, get centered, and help yourself get everything done in a peaceful way.  It helps with that feeling of being seized up by having too much to do and helps you relax and get back to the moment you’re in so you can take one step at a time and enjoy the process.

I know from personal experience how the worry and stress of having a lot to do can make you feel like you can’t even do anything. This video will help you let that go and get it all done, one step at a time.

I remember when I realized I could do that, suddenly everything felt calmer and more enjoyable, being in the moment and realizing I had a choice about how to experience it, in stress and overwhelm, or peace and enjoyment.

I hope this video makes it easier for you to make the choice to relax and enjoy the process of getting everything done, one moment at a time, one step at a time.

More help in our Circle of Light

In this video, I use twelve of the phrases from the full PEP process for relaxing and enjoying the process of getting things done, and I repeat them three times. In the complete version, the 36 different phrases help you relax, connect with your inner wisdom to choose the next step to take, and enjoy getting it all done, knowing that as you do, you’ll be much more effective and efficient.

You can find the full version of this video in my membership site at our Circle of Light.   I’d love for you to check it out and join if it feels good to you. Lots of great resources there for you for feeling your unconditional well-being and experiencing greater peace, love, abundance, health, and happiness in every area of your life.

Please let me know what you think of this video and this PEP process.  And thanks for your comments and for sharing this with someone who could use some help in relaxing and getting things done, too!

See you in the next video. 🙂

Blessings,
Laura

EFT, EFT Videos, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Videos

Why We Don’t Do What We Love to Do: EFT for Procrastination and Perfectionism

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Is there something that you really love to do but you find that you rarely make the time to do it?   I think that’s true for many creative, sensitive people.   In this video, I talk about why I think we do this and what we can do about it.   Continue reading Why We Don’t Do What We Love to Do: EFT for Procrastination and Perfectionism →

EFT, EFT Videos, Overwhelm, Procrastination, Videos

EFT for Procrastination When You Feel Overwhelmed by Too Much to Do

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Today’s EFT video post will really help you on those days when you feel overwhelmed with too many things to do and you just can’t seem to prioritize and get started. When I’m feeling that way, sometimes I end up not getting anything done and I end up procrastinating: surfing the web, getting a cup of tea, checking my e-mail… like that. If this sounds familiar to you, you’re going to really like this video.

When you find yourself in that state, just watch this EFT video. It only takes seven minutes and you will feel so much better at the end. It will calm your mind so you can prioritize and focus on the task at hand… and even enjoy it.

Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Blessings,
Laura

EFT, EFT Videos, Procrastination, Videos

EFT for Procrastination When You Just Don’t Want to Do Something

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In this video post, I walk you through an EFT process to help you stop procrastinating on something that you know you have to do but you really don’t want to.  The EFT process that I guide you through in this video is simple but very powerful and it will totally help you stop procrastinating and just do what you have to do.  I promise you that you will feel better when you do.

First thing though, be sure that the reason you’re procrastinating is because it’s just something you don’t like doing.  If you’re procrastinating because you’re feeling overwhelmed by too much to do or because you think you have to be perfect at it, you should follow the next two EFT videos I’ll be posting here to help you let go of these underlying issues.

Man, I wish I’d known EFT back when I was in college.  We used to regularly get afflicted with “German Essay Syndrome,” where you have to do something unpleasant that you really don’t like doing (like the weekly German essay…) and so you mess around and waste time, all the while feeling the weight of the German essay hanging over your head.  EFT would have helped us just do it and get on with having fun.

So, go ahead and give it a try.  Follow along with this video and let me know what happens.

See you next time,

Laura

Are you a creative, sensitive, spiritual person?  Do you want to share your gifts with the world?  My self-help program Your Inspiring Life will help you get there.

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EFT, Overwhelm, Perfectionism, Procrastination

Why Do We Procrastinate? Three Basic Reasons…

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In this video, I talk about the three basic reasons why we procrastinate.  It’s important to get clear about what’s going on inside you when you’re avoiding doing something.  Once you know what’s happening within you, you can focus on clearing the underlying issue with EFT.    Continue reading Why Do We Procrastinate? Three Basic Reasons… →

EFT, Fear of Failure, Need for Love and Approval, Perfectionism, Personal Growth Techniques, Procrastination, Unconditional Well-Being

EFT for Procrastination, Perfectionism, Fear of Failure, and the Need for Love and Approval

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What's holding you back from fulfilling your dreams?

In this post, I’ll show you how to let go of negative thoughts and feelings with EFT.  I’ll give you some ideas for how to use this technique to let go of procrastination, perfectionism, fear failure, and the need for love and approval of others. 

In several posts I wrote recently, I talked about how procrastination is generally a mask for an underlying perfectionism.  Perfectionism is an underlying mask for a fear of failure.  And a fear of failure is masking a need for approval and love of others which we think that we need in order to feel happy and worthwhile as a human being. 

The Essential Problem

When it comes down to it, this belief that the approval and love of others will bring us happiness reveals that we are focused in our minds, that we are not connected to the unconditional source of well-being within us.  And that’s the essence of the issue.  

What to Do about It

In future blog posts, I will be covering a lot of different techniques that I have found to be helpful for letting go of issues like these, but today I’m going to be talking about using EFT to help you release these issues and return to your natural state of unconditional well-being.  

How to Let Go of These Negative Thought Patterns with EFT

EFT is a powerful and easy-to-use tool to let go of negative beliefs and feelings.  Here are the basics of how to do it; I’ll go into more details below.  All you need to do is simply tap on the nine key acupressure points of EFT as you think about any issue that is dominant in your mind at the moment.  Follow where your mind takes you.  You can use my How to Do EFT Video to guide you if you like.  

As you tap on any issue and clear it, it is likely that new layers and aspects will emerge that point you deeper into the negative beliefs, feelings, and painful past memories for you to release.  As you do, you will be releasing old habitual patterns of conditional thinking that you have probably lived with for a long time.  Once you let go of these conditions that you are placing on your well-being through EFT, you will naturally begin to feel that wonderful experience of well-being that’s always available to you beneath your negative thoughts. 

Some Ideas to Tap on to Let Go of These Issues

I’m going to make some videos to help walk you through using EFT to let go of procrastination, perfectionism, fear of failure, and the need for love and approval.  Look for those in future blog posts or on my YouTube channel.  Until then, here are some ideas for topics that you could tap on to let go of these issues: 

  • Not wanting to do this thing.
  • Procrastinating on the next step.
  • Feeling like I need to be perfect.
  • Fear of failure.
  • Fear of rejection and ridicule.
  • Worry about what other people think of me and what I do.
  • Feeling like I’m not lovable and not worthy unless I am perfect.
  • And any other conditional thoughts or painful memories that emerge from your mind as you go through the process.

I think that gives you a general idea in a place to start for your own tapping.  As you tap away these issues, you’ll be tapping into your unconditional well-being.  

So that’s enough for now.  As I said, in future posts, I will go into other effective ways I’ve found to help us to come back to the natural state of unconditional well-being within us.  Look for those new videos soon, too.  

Also, my self-help program, Your Inspiring Life, has 22 EFT recordings that help you easily let go of all of these limiting beliefs and more.  I designed it to help you let go of all the internal barriers that are holding you back from fulfilling your dreams.  It helps you feel inspired and motivated to take action to create a life that truly fulfills you.  You can learn more about my program here: Your Inspiring Life 

In my next post, I’ll talk more about how to use EFT as a doorway to access your unconditional well-being in each moment.

Perfectionism, Procrastination

Procrastination and Perfectionism and How They Hold Us Back From Our Dreams

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Procrastination and perfectionism can hold us back from going for our dreams...

In my last post, I started talking about why we have so much difficulty really going for the goals that inspire us.  I think that there are four key levels to this that take us deeper and deeper into our core issues.  I’ll cover the first two of these in this post: the closely related issues of procrastination and perfectionism.  Once we recognize these patterns and free ourselves from these tendencies, we open ourselves to a whole new level of unconditional well-being and fulfillment in our lives.  Once we let these go, following our dreams with passion and enthusiasm will naturally flow from the source of inspiration and well-being within us.  And the first step is recognizing how these tendencies affect us in our own lives. 

Level I: Procrastination

Outwardly, we find ourselves procrastinating and getting distracted by the little mundane tasks that we need to do each day and by the tempting ease of surfing the Internet or watching TV.  Sinking into blessed oblivion, as they say.  You’ll know when you’re using these activities as an excuse and distraction from what you really want to do because there will be a vague sense of dis-ease about doing it.  And when you’re done, the anxiety will come back.  But if the goal is something we really want, why are we procrastinating about it in the first place?

Level II: Perfectionism

I think that the reason we procrastinate is that we are putting an intense amount of pressure on ourselves to be absolutely perfect from the very beginning.  I actually think the idea of “perfection” is a risky one to play around with.  The problem is this: how do you objectively define perfection?  I think we have assumed that at some point we’ll look at what we have created and say, “Ah yes, I see that this is absolutely perfect and it is ready to share with the world.”  Now, I’m sure that that does happen sometimes.  But if we are procrastinating because we are putting a lot of pressure on ourselves about what we need to come of it: approval, appreciation, love, etc., there’s a lot more at stake at finishing whatever we’re doing.  So, from my perspective, not finishing and perfectionism are just different forms of procrastination that let us avoid our fear of putting ourselves and our creations out into the world. 

If we keep working and working on something until we get to that is elusive destination called “perfection,” we may never get there. 

In my next post, I’ll talk about two different motivations that drive us toward excellence and how one of them is helping you and one is holding you back.  I’ll also go deeper into the issues that hold us back from following our dreams.  Beneath the procrastination and perfectionism, there is a fear of failure and a deep need for the love and approval of others.  And awareness of this is the first step in changing things for the better.  We’ll talk about all this next time… see you then. 

Blessings,

Laura

Learn about my self-help program here:  Your Inspiring Life

EFT, Perfectionism, Procrastination

EFT for Procrastination and Perfectionism: A simple way to let them go

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I should probably get started on that… right after I check my email…

In my last post, I talked about how I found myself procrastinating about getting started on my videos for my blog and YouTube.  I talked about how I realized how important it is to give ourselves permission to not be perfect when we’re just beginning something new.  When we expect ourselves to be brilliant from the start, we put way too much pressure on ourselves and that creates a lot of resistance.  Instead of facing the anxiety of not being perfect, we decide to do other busywork that isn’t as likely to lead to feelings of failure and inadequacy.  Like I said, that’s way too much pressure and it takes all the fun out of it.  You know what I mean?

Some Issues to Tap On to Get Past Procrastination and Perfectionism

So, in this blog post I thought I would give you a few tips on how to use EFT to help you get over these perfectionistic roadblocks that lead to us to procrastinate.  If you don’t know how to do EFT, check out my next post where I have a video that shows you just how to do it.  (See, it works… I got my first videos done!  🙂 )

To get you started, here are some suggestions for phrases you can target with EFT:

Feeling like I have to be perfect from the beginning. 

Frustration and anxiety when things don’t go the way I want them to.

This feeling like I’m not good enough because I’m not perfect at this right now.

This anxiety and sadness about not being perfect. 

You get the idea.  Of course, you can adapt these to fit your particular feelings and situation or just use them as a starting place to help you get clear about what’s going on within you.

A Nice Affirmation to Use

Whatever the specific target issue is, you can use a positive affirmation at the end at the side of the hand point, something like this:

I give myself permission to not be perfect right now.  I choose to play and have fun and know that even when things don’t turn out the way I want them to, I’m practicing and learning and getting better all the time.  All my experiences will eventually lead me to learn how to create the beautiful things I envision.  I don’t have to be perfect to have fun.  I give myself permission to enjoy the process.  And I know these experiences will help me to eventually get to where I want to be. 

That feels better, doesn’t it?  With enough tapping, you will actually get to where this affirmation feels absolutely true to you.  And you know what will happen after that?  If you’re like me, you will find yourself feeling inspired and excited about taking the next step.  And that’s a wonderful place to be.

About My Program

My self-help program, Your Inspiring Life, includes recorded EFT processes to help you overcome procrastination and the negative beliefs that trigger it.  In fact, the program has 22 mp3 EFT processes and a number of guided visualizations and meditations as well that help you move through a whole variety of negative beliefs and habits so you can really move forward and make your dreams happen.  Each EFT process includes affirmations similar to the one above so you don’t have to think of them on your own.  Listening to EFT recordings makes the whole process really easy.  You might want to check it out and see if it feels like it might help you on your journey.

So, Try EFT… it really will help

Give the process I outlined above a try.  Do a few rounds on it and then see how you feel.  If you do, I think it will really help open you up to letting yourself explore your dreams without having to be perfect right out of the gate.  Give yourself permisson to let that go and go have some fun!

See you in my next post.  If you haven’t already, you can sign up for my email newsletter or the RSS feed for my blog so you’ll get notified about my new posts and videos.  And leave me a comment or question below, too.  I’d love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Laura

Live Your Dream.  Your Inspiring Life

Procrastination

How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Dreams: Just Let Those Pots Fly Out the Window

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I’ve been wanting to get started making videos for my blog and YouTube but I just couldn’t seem to get myself going on it since the holidays.  But I had a breakthrough yesterday.  I was talking to a friend of mine who is a really wonderful potter.  We were talking about how it seems to be difficult to set aside the time to do what we really want to do… for me it’s making some videos on topics that really inspire me and that I want to share and for her, it’s making pots on her wheel at home.  There’s always something else to do first… the dishes, check email, and for me, I have this thing that I have to be in the “right mood” to do it.  Even though I have all the tools and understanding about negative beliefs holding us back, I just hadn’t thought about the underlying issues that were keeping me from going forward with making videos. 

But as I was talking with my potter friend, I realized that making videos is just like doing pottery: you have to be willing to start by making pots that will probably fall apart and fly out the window to begin with.  I used to do pottery years ago and I really loved it, but I do remember that the number of pots that actually go from a lumpy blob of clay to a beautiful finished pot is pretty low in the beginning.  I still loved it, I loved the feeling of it, and I just accepted that the pots that fly apart are just a part of the process of getting to the ones that are beautiful.  

And as I was talking to my friend, I realized that making videos is the same thing.  I have to be willing for the first videos I make to be just like a pot that gets a wobble and then flies off the wheel and into oblivion.  It’s all part of the process of getting comfortable with the medium, of learning how to center myself, and eventually, I’ll make a great video. 

So, for some reason, this was the idea that really helped me get through the barrier of getting started on my videos.  I realized I was putting a lot of unspoken pressure on myself to get it right the first time.  “Gotta be efficient and start getting videos out there right now!”  

Procrastination = Perfectionism

I realized that this is just another reflection of perfectionism and procrastination, which are two sides of the same coin, really.  If we expect our first pots to be perfect from the beginning, it’s likely that we’ll find a lot of other things to do before we get started, because that’s just not realistic and it’s too much pressure.  It’s setting ourselves up for failure.  And that’s no fun. 

So, of course the part of us that doesn’t want to feel bad says, Well, I’m not doing it.  But I’m not going to come out and say it directly, because I’ll get in trouble if I do.  I’m just going to subtly make suggestions like, don’t you need to do the dishes?  You haven’t checked your email yet, maybe there’s something important there.  And wasn’t there something else you needed to do first?  And on and on. 

The Big Shift

So, yesterday afternoon, I told myself that I was going to just make some videos that I was totally willing to let fly out the window.  They could be absolutely terrible and I would still have a good time.  Because I know that these first ventures into this new medium are likely to be a little goofy and awkward to begin with.  I’ll get there eventually.  And I’m sure that with some practice at the wheel, I’ll find that they get easier and easier.  And better and better.

I remember when my friend first started learning pottery, she would have days where she didn’t make one finished pot.  The clay would not cooperate and it was a frustrating, disheartening experience for her.  But that was all a part of how she got to where she is now.  She stuck with it, let herself have those days, and now she has her own growing pottery business and she can create a lot of beautiful pots in one session. 

What To Do About It

We can all get there with our chosen creative expressions.  We just have to be willing to sit down and let the first ones we create not be perfect.  It all begins here. 

If you want to get over procrastination about something you’ve been wanting to do, look at how you’re expecting yourself to be perfect right out of the gate.  Then give yourself permission to let go of that pressure and just explore and have fun with what you’re doing.  Give yourself permission to let a whole lot of pots fly out the window.  As you do, you’ll really get started on the path toward getting that perfect pot that you want, or video, or writing, or painting, or whatever you’re wanting to create.  And you will get there.  Imperfection will eventually lead to the perfect kind of perfection, if you let it. 

Update on My Video-Making Progress

It totally worked!  I recorded my first video the same day I wrote this post.  Yay!  And my video didn’t even fly out the window.  You can see it here (it’s about EFT: what it is and my perspective on how it works):  So What Is EFT Anyway?

Sometimes, all it takes is a little awareness and shift in thinking to move us forward.  I did need to do a little tapping just before putting it up on YouTube though, had some butterflies about it.  It turned out well for my first one though, don’t you think?  Funny, when we give ourselves permission to do something badly, we make room for ourselves to do it pretty well. 

Let me know what you think of this post and of my fist video by leaving a comment below or comment here. 

In my next post, I’ll give you some tips on how to use EFT to overcome procrastination and the shadow aspect of it that we sometimes don’t even realize is there: perfectionism. 

See you then!  And thanks for reading. 

Blessings,

Laura