setting goals helps you beat procrastination but it’s getting started that puts you in flow
- Salma Summers
- Nov 3, 2019
- 4 min read
you never feel like it. you never wake up and say “yeah today i am going to change every bad habit i have.” and even if you do, you won’t change every bad habit you have overnight.
when we go 0 to 100 on a new lifestyle, we usually can’t keep up with our new selves. look at new year resolutions for example, we end up setting big goals and by week 2 (week 4 if you are lucky) we completely fall off.
we burn out and we burn out quickly.
change happens gradually and only after an applied period of time do we start to see results.
in Japan, they have a one-minute technique called Kaizen. it’s actually really simple, the rule is to apply a new habit into your life for only one minute every single day.
60 seconds. that is it.
want to start meditating? do it for one minute a day.
want to learn something new? read about it for one minute a day.
want to start working out? do an exercise for one minute a day.
you may think that a minute is useless. but this isn’t about time, this is about building a muscle.
sooner than later, your body will get used to you working out and you will want to spend more time doing it.
it isn’t about doing the thing that we resist more than it is about STARTING the thing.
this is a way to hack your own mind -- if you know you are only doing something for a minute your brain won’t have much resistance to it.
once we get started on whatever it is we want to do, then we will catch ourselves on the wave and we will lose ourselves in the activity. this is what they call flow.
once we are in the flow state we are going and we are loving what we are doing. time loses its meaning and we are completely surrendered to the present moment and what it is we are doing at that moment. be it cooking, cleaning, writing, painting, studying, working out … whatever it is that we are doing, we will eventually tap into the blissful state of flow.
we must, however, start.
and some people put off starting until their lives are over.
don’t be that “some” people.
procrastination is something that everyone deals with. there is this misconception that people who love what they do, never procrastinate. this is not true.
these people have set up systems for themselves that get them into the state of flow.
everyone has days, months, or even years where they don’t feel like doing anything.
however, if you set goals for yourself and you break these goals into bite-size, daily, and accessible tasks, then you will accomplish any goal you have.
no matter how big it is.
but you can’t leave this shit to chance. there is no such thing as luck. even those who are master manifestors know the importance of action.
there are two types of action though. there is inspired action and then there is doing things by force or will.
your will power will only get you so far.
earlier i mentioned burnout. that’s what happens when you try to do things based off of will.
so let me make this really simple.
when we set goals for ourselves (like we do on new years) we can either apply these goals into our life by doing it slowly and creating a system that works for us, or we can go all-in until our bodies crash.
the one minute rule is genius because it gives you the opportunity to do something new but to take it slowly.
this way you don’t burnout because you are pacing yourself
you get started so that procrastination doesn’t stop you
you give yourself space for inspired action to come through you and put you into the state of flow
magic happens in the flow state. but we can’t reach this state until we create a structure for ourselves that supports new habits in our life.
the structure is like the prepping phase in the cooking process.
you get all your ingredients ready so that cooking is enjoyable and easy.
the same applies to every other habit you want to implement. get it on your daily to-do list (even if that is mental) and show up to do it every day. start out with just a minute. don’t put pressure on yourself.
you are training your brain while you are developing habits that will stick with you for the rest of your life.
and just like the prepping phase, you are getting yourself in the state of allowing inspired action to hit you and then that puts you in the state of flow.
from this place, activities that you procrastinated on will become second nature like brushing your teeth.
when you show up, ESPECIALLY on the days you don’t feel like it, eventually what happens is that procrastination becomes a thing of the past and it is replaced by flow.
flow is surrendering and allowing magic to come through you.
and it is as enjoyable as cooking when all your ingredients are laid out for you, already chopped, measured and ready for use.
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