Why do we procrastinate?

Ahh, so many potential topics to write about I can’t decide!! As that is an excuse for procrastination perhaps that is the perfect place to start since I have recently attended a workshop on just that topic. What did I learn at this workshop? Well one of the first things I discovered is that my problem with procrastination is bigger than I first thought. Sure there are some obvious areas of my life that I’m aware I procrastinate over, writing being one of them however going through a questionnaire which included nine areas of life; Career/Work, Finances, Relationships with Partner/Family, Health/Fitness, Social life, Home, Fun, Mindset, Spiritual life I was a little shocked to discover when I got to answering – ‘A task that I have been ‘putting off’ is……………,
I was able to come up with at least one for each and in some cases although I only wrote down one answer there could have been a few more.

What I took from the procrastination workshop is that it isn’t really important what you are procrastinating about but rather the reasons behind the procrastination. One of the biggest reasons for procrastination is fear in all its shapes and forms. Fear of rejection, criticism, failure and success are just some of the reasons.  However it is also true that in avoiding doing the things we believe we should be doing we end up still feeling these feelings and at some point the pain of doing nothing will become greater than of taking action although by this time we may well have ensured that we will fail and be more exposed to the things we feared in the first place. So what do I think the solution is? Well we might as well get started on the things we are putting off and find out whether our fears are actually justified particularly since most of what we fear never happens.

What have you been putting off lately and what is one thing you can do right now to take a step closer to what you want out of life? If you feel you could use some support and encouragement in overcoming procrastination and taking steps towards living the live you desire why not consider partnering with a coach. Too find out more about coaching go to http://www.destinybychoice.com.au/contact-us/ enter your details and I will be in touch soon to discuss your coaching needs.

An Exercise in Silence!

Over the weekend I attended a workshop with Beyond Success focusing on self-reflection, in which we participated in a number of meditative and reflective exercises. One of the exercises was a period of silence which I’m pleased to say only lasted 2 hours rather than the 12 + hours which occurred in a similar workshop I have previously attended.

The difference for me this time was that rather than avoiding having to order lunch/dinner without speaking I took on that challenge. I went to a cafe with a couple of other attendees and although ordering food wasn’t that much of a challenge with menus in hand, attempting to communicate to our very tolerant waiter that we only had 30 mins and various other things we needed to get across to him proved to be both challenging and incredibly funny.

One of the things this exercise showed to me, being someone who is somewhat afraid of public speaking, is that you can just as easily be laughed at and judged/criticised for being silent. The looks on the wait people’s faces was priceless and I don’t doubt they had a good laugh at our expense however we will most probably never see them again and we had a lot of fun in the process.  

Fear often holds us back from doing the things we want to do despite the fact that we can end up feeling exactly the same if we don’t take the action. What are you allowing fear to stop you from doing? If this is something you would like some assistance with overcoming go to http://www.destinybychoice.com.au/contact-us/ and let me know how I can assist you in getting the outcomes you want from your life.

Living Above the Line.

One of the concepts that has had the biggest impact on me through my personal development journey and was presented to us in our first session of coach training and also came up again at a recent workshop is the idea of living above the line. When you are living above the line you become the cause of your life however if you choose to live below the line you are choosing to live your life as a victim.

Ownership

Accountability                                                         Champion

Responsibility

 _____________________________________________________________

Blame

Excuses                                                                      Victim

Denial

When I first saw this idea it occurred to me that ‘yes I have been choosing to live as a victim’ and I decided then that I didn’t want to continue doing that. It isn’t as simple as just deciding and going out and living above the line forever after, when we or in this instance I, have been programmed for years to blame others, make excuses and live in denial. Procrastination, which the workshop was about is the perfect opportunity to excel at making excuses and continues to provide me with challenges every day. This blog is evidence in itself, for me anyway, that I am making an effort to live above the line and I encourage you to ask the question ‘Where do I most often live?’

If you can identify with living below the line and would like some support and encouragement to be living above the line visit www.destinybychoice.com.au

Childbirth Choices

I’ve recently been writing a blog regarding my current exercise and diet program and now I feel it is time to start blogging about topics that are relevant to the work (for want of a better word) that I do.  I have a number of different areas in which I will write including general personal development topics, single parenting and childbirth so have decided due to my business name that I would call my blog choosing your destiny and follow that up with whichever specific topic I’m talking about in the blog. To start off with is one on childbirth…..
There seems to be a huge generalization out there in the birthing information world that women who birth babies in hospitals will not be supported in their choices to have a natural birth and end up having various interventions thrust upon them.
I myself have worked as a Midwife in a Private Hospital delivery suite for over 10 years and choose to work there because as natural a process as I believe birth to be I am also aware that at times things can go wrong and I like having the reassurance of backup close at hand.
One of the things they teach you in nursing, midwifery and life coach training, in which I have qualifications, is that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and the need to remain non-judgemental in professional interactions. There are certainly beliefs and choices that others make that I don’t hold myself however this doesn’t stop me from being a support to the person.
Now for me I wouldn’t let an anaesthetist anywhere near my back with an epidural needle unless I thought there was a very good medical indication for doing so and for me labour is not one of those indications. That however does not mean I don’t support my patients choice to use them and arrange for them to have them accordingly. I recently read an article titled – ‘The truth about epidural’, I believe the only truth of the article (which was never stated anywhere in the article) was that it was the writers attempt to justify her own decision to have an epidural as the article attempted to discount the whole notion of a cascade of intervention and focused on the advantages of epidurals from the writers perspective.
Even in a private hospital (at least where I have been working) women have natural birth options available and are generally supported in their desire to use such methods as; the use of exercise balls, a birthing chair, spa baths and although not an option at this point in time within a year or so water births will be an available option, also a number of midwives have acupressure point knowledge, myself included. There are more and more women attending both Calm birth and Hypnobirthing classes.
My training as a Life Coach has increased my understanding of how our emotions affect us in certain situations, birth being one of them and I’ve made the decision that I want to assist women and their partners to be better prepared mentally and emotionally for the challenges of child birth. In order to do this I am going to be trained as a Hypnobirth trainer so that I can teach women and their birth partners natural child birth techniques in order to be able to have a drug free birthing experience, if that is what they decided to do regardless of where they choose to have their babies.