Okay… so does ‘Overcome Procrastination’ before it “smashes your dreams” sound a bit dramatic? I’ll tell you why it’s likely not and you’re better off thinking otherwise. In fact, I’ll reveal a few reasons, starting with a paraphrased quote revealed by Tony Robbins that’s stuck with me for all the years since I heard it:
“… You don’t want to get to the end of your life and realize you only lived one-tenth of it.”
Wow… that hit me hard. My subconscious mind often defaults to that quote whenever I realize I might be putting off vital actions for fear of overall failure.
Here’s a more objectively-centered realization that can be coupled with that quote in providing you leverage to overcome procrastination – especially procrastination on your big objectives: In a Yale study, fully 75% of seasoned citizens felt more regret over what they’d wanted to do in their lives but hadn’t tried because of “fear of failure” than those things they had tried but “failed” at.
Maybe as we get older we realize the transitory nature of “embarrassment” from taking a shot at something big and stumbling in contrast to the eternal disgrace of never having had the courage to try at all. Whatever the case, even if we’re well into our second half of life, we don’t want to be there; we want to know we at least gave those other nine-tenths our best shot.
Procrastination often lends itself to humor. However, there's usually nothing funny about its potential long-term effects on our lives when it's chronically problematic.
Overcome Procrastination ‘coz there’s a reason it’s called the “dream stealer”
Of course, there are different levels of procrastination. There are those that can create small but inconvenient rushes in our lives (like doing taxes at the last minute), and those that can lead to postponement and even abandonment of our biggest aspirations. It’s putting off the steps that lead to the big aspirations that land the procrastination of particular tasks in the category of ‘dream stealer.’
But even procrastinated tasks that are seemingly ancillary to our big aspirations can have a negative effect on achieving them and potentially prevent it all together. If we put off doing taxes to the point that it negatively affects personal financial resources, it could eventually have a dire effect on pursuing a particular career dream. Likewise, if we put off improving our health and fitness, all other dreams and aspirations could go up in smoke; we’ve got nothing without our health.
Overcome Procrastination and become someone who Makes Things Happen
In the late nineties, I worked for a guy who changed his life for the better rather quickly. In fact, he went from having a start-up business to a thriving business in record time. He did well, despite the fact that he lacked talent in some areas and there was a lot he didn’t know (like all of us).
There was one trait I noticed about Greg (his name) that stood out above all others; the one thing I learned from him. He’d get an idea to do something, and the next day…. Why… he’d be doing it. I mean… this guy was the opposite of the procrastinator. He would at least start taking small steps in the direction of his idea to see if it had “legs.” Then he’d use that feedback to either ‘tweak’ his idea or dump it and come up with a new one. Greg seemed to continuously use this formula on his biggest aspirations while having a large family to tend to simultaneously. He appeared to treat all his projects and heart-felt concerns as if today was all he had and tomorrow might never come.
He unknowingly became my mentor on this one vital skill.
Overcome Procrastination, “The Dream Stealer”, by Understanding its Psychology
At another time, I had a co-worker who said he really had a great theme for a pizza restaurant he wanted to open. He would gladly talk about how he was going to open this pizza place someday, yet he never took even the most rudimentary action for making it happen. When I became inquisitive about his inaction, he answered me by saying:
“My problem is procrastination; I have a real tendency to procrastinate.”
I liked his candidness. But at the same time, I was a little surprised; how could he not know how fast time flies and how short life is by that age? He was in his mid-fifties – well enough along in his sixth decade to know that time is merciless when we put these things off.
Then it dawned on me: He knows enough to know he’s procrastinating. He knows it’s holding him back. Yet he doesn’t know enough about the underlying “psychology of procrastination” to conquer it and resume forward. That’s a problem. And that just happens to be where a lot of people are; self-actualized enough to know they need to overcome procrastination but lacking the know-how to stop the procrastinating of overcoming it.
Kind of ironic.
The Psychology of Procrastination: One simple Equation makes the Difference in Understanding
There are a number of books out there on ‘overcoming procrastination.’ Some of them are quite good. Yet what I’ve noticed that separates The Psychology of Procrastination from the rest is a simple equation on page 22 of the book. You see… I like things to start out simple. I like to be able to understand the nitty-gritty details of a topic when they’re predicated on a framework that I can see and understand in one glance. Then all the other psychology described makes perfect sense. That’s the way to start a book. And that’s how Roger Constandse begins this powerful work on overcoming procrastination.
Remember: To get more of what you want out of life, you need to become more of a ‘high performance person.’ High performance people have discovered how to conquer procrastination whenever it begins to rear its ugly head.
When you come to fully understand the psychology of procrastination, beginning with that simple and powerful equation on page 22, you will not only possess the tools to conquer this ‘dream stealer’, but also the fundamental knowledge to fully exploit those powerful tools.




