We all do it. No matter how successful you are, at one time or another you’ll fall into the self-sabotage trap, and the price of admission is high.
The end result? Frustration. Burnout. Resentment (of your clients or your business). And yes, even more self-sabotaging behaviors. This downward spiral can quickly turn devastating, but stopping it is easy when you learn to recognize the symptoms.
Procrastination
Were you going to send a proposal to a potential new client, but waited too long?
Did you mean to apply for that training program but missed the deadline?
Or maybe you simply waited too long to take advantage of a sale price on a tool to help production.
These and other missed opportunities can often be blamed on simple procrastination, one of the most destructive habits we suffer from. Procrastination is what keeps us working late at night to make a deadline, costs us money in late fees, and even costs us business.
If you’re prone to procrastination, try these techniques to put an end to it:
Failing to Complete Your Projects
Be honest. How many half-written workflows, partially planned emails, and unfinished products are cluttering up your hard drive right now?
If you’re like a lot of entrepreneurs, the answer is probably several.
You started all of them with great enthusiasm.You planned out a new menu, or wanted to reach a new region, and maybe even outlined a new pricing strategy. And then...you just stopped working on it.
Maybe you tell yourself that you’re too busy. Maybe you “need to do some more research.” Or maybe you simply lost interest. But the truth is, none of those are the real reason. For a lot of business owners and managers, this self-sabotaging habit is actually
a symptom of a lack of confidence, and it’s keeping you from the success you deserve.
Consider this: You cannot know the actual success rate of a program you’ve never finished, and you cannot improve upon something you’ve never completed. So rather than filling your hard drive with half-finished projects, power through and start releasing them—even if you believe they’re not perfect, and even if you think they’ll never sell.
You may surprise yourself and succeed!
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Emilia Andrews
offers a clear path to business growth and success by providing effective marketing strategies, services and solutions. Sign up to learn more about her marketing consultation, marketing strategies and services.
Emilia Andrews is an executive leader, Fractional CMO and marketing consultant who delivers marketing strategies and services that accelerates business growth.