Scene: I’m in a discussion with Pejman and a self-proclaimed life coach who is listing his reasons for not taking action, proudly, as though they were his battle scars. Pejman asks, “Isn’t that just laziness?” To which the man responds, “Well, I wouldn’t consider it lazy…more like fear of failure…” and proceeded to explain how he was able to tell people how to live their life when he was too scared to live his own.
This moment shook me to the core. Literally. It jolted me into reevaluating my entire life AND my identity as a life coach, mentor, friend, and woman. I mean, who the hell am I to tell people how to live their life when I still had various “reasons” for not acting in my own greatness? In reality, I was procrastinating all WRONG. This conversation showed what I needed to change and how to fix it at the root.
Funny thing is, upon assessment of my daily habits, I found I was ultimately avoiding the tiny things that made me function better as a coach and entrepreneur like dressing up for work instead of living in yoga pants, doing my hair instead of throwing it up in a messy bun, and getting out of my house to do client sessions rather than hiding behind a phone for “convenience.”
On that day I declared this mindset as Prideful Ignorance: a conscious choice to avoid the necessary work to make one’s life better. It’s like taking pride in your work as a chronic procrastinator and showing it to the world like a badge of honor. A narcissist at best. And while minor, my habits revealed the signs.
Have you ever had one of those moments, where everything you’ve ever known comes to a screeching halt? Like even though you have accomplished massive things in life you are instantly humbled by a new level of awareness…
There was a time in my life where I was a master at procrastination. I avoided risks and chances and even BIG opportunities. At the time, I was sick, obese, and depressed. I held myself back so severely that three different doctors tried to put me on Prozac. I became a coach because I thought I’d broken that pattern by losing 80 pounds, running a couple of businesses, and conquering multiple chronic illnesses, all without meds.
But in a flash, during this pinnacle conversation, I noticed that one pattern had not been resolved- my ability to effectively procrastinate.
As everything in life is a choice, we can choose to act or not act. The difference between procrastinating on the important tasks or procrastinating on the distractions is the difference between prideful ignorance and enlightened success. Victims always accept failure before they ever take a risk but in the end the only thing being risked is future success. Entrepreneurs, heroes, will never accept their own excuses as a valid reason for not taking action.
Success comes in understanding how to effectively procrastinate on distractions, excuses, and especially on bullshit habits like hiding from your own success. If your mind, life, and work ethic are filled with more focus on YouTube breaks, Netflix marathons, and living for the weekends, an average life with average results, and a heart full of regret is all you’ll be left with.
It’s the crazy one’s who are willing to deny their fears and the status quo that change the world, not the ones who feed them. Just as a superhero chooses to use their power for good or evil, each and every one of us who hopes to impact the world must choose to use procrastination for either helping or hindering our own efforts. Call it procrastination, call it lazy, or call it fear, when one can conquer prideful ignorance, he/she becomes great not just in mind but in habit.
