If You Constantly Talk Yourself Out Of Doing Things Here’s What You Can Do

Photo by christopher lemercier on Unsplash

First, let me say this…the struggle is real.

Every night before going to bed, I run through a list of things I need to get through the following day.

When I woke up this morning, my intention was to write and publish an article.

While getting out of bed, I kept telling myself to get back to bed. And so I did.

I gave in and went back to bed for another 30 minutes.

I got up again and immediately regretted going back to bed.

I have a routine I’m trying to follow.

Get up, meditate, journal, write and publish an article on Medium, have breakfast, hit the gym, and then start my day.

Sounds simple, right?

If only it were.

I got out of bed and attempted to meditate, but I was already thinking about the article and couldn’t fully immerse myself in the meditative state.

I got maybe 5 mins of meditation before I sat down in front of my laptop and began writing.

Writing? No. There was no writing. More like having self-doubt, not feeling confident in what I wanted to write, and not feeling worthy.

I began browsing articles about these emotions which I might add I do every day.

After around 30 minutes of browsing, I suddenly realized how inconceivably dumb I was being and banged out this article.

The thing is I know what I need to do. It’s the self-talking that prevents me from taking action.

As you hopefully continue reading, you will come to your own conclusions about my struggle and I know there are many of you out there who can relate to my need to overcome this time-wasting habit.

Here are a few conclusions I’ve drawn…

1. Self-sabotage is real and affects all of us, daily. If you don’t live in awareness, this problem can lead to a lifetime of unfulfilled desires.
2. I personally have prevented myself from accomplishing many, many goals due to this unforgiving, relentless habit.
3. This habit creates a ripple effect and not only affects you mentally but also physically.

Here’s what you can do or rather what I’m doing to do to relinquish this habit…

1. Stop comparing myself to others.

I often compare my writing to others and feel discouraged. I also often wonder how these writers managed to pull out these top-notch articles. But then I remind myself that these same writers once had to start writing and went through similar struggles.

2. Don’t wait for inspiration, create it.

My morning routine includes meditation. Once I sit down and quiet the chit-chat in my head, it makes it easier to sit down and do the work because I feel inspired.

3. There’s no such thing as perfection. Get it done and move on.

I can’t ever get it perfect. There’s always someone or something better. So why not enjoy the ride? Just do it. After all, I’m trying to break an old habit and form a new habit.

4. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

To undo a habit, I have to break it down into bite-sized pieces and chomp it down. It takes time but with consistency, and being in complete awareness of my thoughts, I believe I can overcome this time-wasting habit.

Talking myself out of doing things led me to waste a lot of time, time I could have used productively.

I hope there are some who can relate to this. Please leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.