Don't fear failure

Good afternoon, friends!

I have been struggling with something.

I put off opening an email, starting a book, or watching a video that I perceive as high value.

ESPECIALLY with emails.

Anything by Dan Koe, Eddy Quan, Nick Huber, Ben Settle, or Meagan Loyst will sit in my inbox FOREVER before I read it.

Weird right?

If they are so valuable, why do I put off reading them?

Well, I asked my therapist (ChatGPT) and this is what I found out:

Just good old fashioned procrastination.

It does go a little deeper though.

Specifically, this form of procrastination is called "anticipatory anxiety” and it’s induced when the fear of not can make a task seem so critical that the possibility of failing becomes paralyzing.

Ahhh….

When I read that, a lightbulb went off.

I do, in fact, struggle with perfectionism and overextension. I take on too many things and try to make them too perfect.

So, when I see a super valuable email sitting there, I know I’m going to take an action from it, so I put off opening it. I’ve already got too much on my plate.

Time for a mental shift.

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Here’s how I’m going to attack this behavior. Hopefully it’s useful for you too.

First, I’m going to adopt a few practices…

Getting serious about mindfulness:

My intention is to be in the present moment. This helps eliminate anxiety about future tasks and helps focus on the task at hand, rather than worrying about the outcome.

Using the Eisenhower Matrix:

This matrix is a time management technique that helps prioritize tasks by their urgency and importance. Implementing this as a quick mental filter will provide a path forward in the present moment.

And a few things that will help in the long run as I prioritize my time, priorities, and speed of execution.

• Having a big goal, project, or vision. If all information and inputs are filtered through your end goal, you’ll have a better idea if it’s useful or not. This will dictate if you should delete or save.

• Use a second brain. Everything doesn't have to slide through your fingers. Store it somewhere. That way you can use the information that you come across or store it for later.

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Our time is all limited.

We can’t focus on everything we want to.

But we should have processes and systems in place to make sure we focus on the stuff we NEED to.

Cheers,

Swanagan