That One Nagging Thing

Is there something that you’ve told yourself you need to do 10 times? Is there that conversation, project, email, errand, bill to pay, etc. that lurks in your head like some sort of gravitational swing, coming into your thoughts, only to be pushed away and swing back?

I have had something on my to-do list for weeks, and I have been a ridiculous procrastinator. (For me, it was finalizing the music and licensing agreement so the App of Six Minutes Daily can actually come to life and go into beta testing). It’s a project that took less than an hour when I finally did it yesterday. But, my mind has spent way more than an hour over the last few weeks finding ways not to do it.

When I asked my entrepreneurial students and clients this week if they had “One Nagging Thing” to get done, everyone did.

So why do we allow ourselves to get in these negative feedback cycles and drag our feet on things that we are called to do? One big answer – FEAR – fear of success, fear of failure, fear of conflict, fear of … the elusive ghost in the closet that we can’t even articulate.

This fear can drain us. It allows the voice inside us to have a heyday, reminding us that we aren’t good enough. But that’s really just our insecure self image /ego wanting to stay small. We can shift that voice.

How? WELCOME THE FEAR (and the feeling). Instead of writing that thing again on your to-do list with the knowing that you’re not ready to do it, give yourself a few minutes to have conversation with it. Mentally, put the to do in a chair across from you. Ask it why it is being so hard to complete. LET IT RESPOND. Write down what comes. Respond back to it with your inner courage. Ask what it is trying to teach you? Use creativity to come up with new solutions to the fear. Keep welcoming the internal dialogue and keep writing down the conversations. By facing our fears and allowing them to have a direct dialogue with us, we can learn from them, answer them and help overcome them.

Nothing is usually as awful as our imagination makes it out to be. I found (especially this week), when I had a conversation with my fear (around success, rejection, failure, control), it lost it’s almost paralyzing power and it became easy to move forward and finish my project. After I selected the music, I found my excitement again and my energy surged. I am here now, I’m OK, and I’m ready.

Here’s to facing and talking to that one nagging thing on your list this week and releasing it so that you can move forward with energy and possibility.

A few minutes of breathing, writing down our intentions and our gratitude every day helps to awaken our inner knowing. Let’s fly!