Overcome Overwhelm and Kick Procrastination

OVERCOME OVERWHELM,
KICK PROCRASTINATION,
GET UNSTUCK AND
GET GOING, FAST!
Understand the 3 PRINCIPLES behind why
you do these stinky habits, apply 1 SIMPLE
STRATEGY and GET RESULT!
by THUREIN WIN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
...................................................................................................... Introduction 3
......................... Overcoming Overwhelm, Procrastination and Self-sabotage 4
........................................................................... Why is it important to get this sorted? 4
Disaster #1. Wasted time 4
Disaster #2. Low Self-Esteem 4
Disaster #3. Lack of trust in self, lack of confidence 4
Disaster #4. Addiction 5
Disaster #5. Depression 5
....................................................................... Mind hacks behind the mindset 6
........................................................................................ 3 Universal Unconscious Fears 6
............................................................................................... The Be, Do, Have Model 7
........................................................................................................... Hierarchy of Ideas 9
Hierarchy of What? 9
Chunking Up 10
Chunking Across 10
Chunking Down 10
..................................................................................................................... Worksheet 13
Finding the higher purpose! 13
Finding alternatives! 14
Specific Action Steps 14
................................................................................................ Changing your Thinking 15
Awesome Beliefs 15
.................................................. Make a Decision and Follow Through with An Action 16
............................................................................................................................... END 17
Overcome Overwhelm, Kick Procrastination, Get Unstuck And Get Going, FAST!
2013 HEARTCORESUCCESS.COM Page 2
INTRODUCTION
Hi,
I would like to thank you again for downloading this workbook on
Overcoming Overwhelm and Procrastination. I think its fantastic that youre
actively looking to improve yourself and striving to be a productive and
contributing member of your community and the society.
And of course, right now I dont know you from a bar of soap but since youve
taken a series of steps to get this and are reading this, Im fairly confident that
youre an action taker.
There is no doubt that action takers, who study and implement imperfectly,
are in the successful top 5% of the worlds population. The masses are just
content with getting more information and then tomorrow comes nothing
really changes for them.
I would like to just quickly give you an overview of the workbook before you
plough through the book.
Although there are many underlying causes for someone to do overwhelm or
procrastination, eg. perfectionist strategies, avoidance, distraction strategies,
etc amongst many others, I will just cover 3 simple but important strategies in
this mini-workbook.
1. Underlying fears
2. Be, Do, Have model of thinking and taking action
3. Hierarchy of Ideas model to approach your goals and actions
If you want the back ground information on the strategies I covered, you
might want to start from page 1 and read through the whole workbook, just
under 20 pages. And thats the way I suggest you do it.
If you just want to get it done and over with, you can skip to the Worksheet
section by skipping to page 14-15 and revisit other bits because it is
important for your own growth.
OK, Ill leave you to it and trust youll find the exercise valuable, actionable
and get result with it.
To your ultimate success,
Thurein
OVERCOMING OVERWHELM,
PROCRASTINATION AND SELF-SABOTAGE
Why is it important to get this sorted?
You know what it feels like every time you procrastinate and every time you do
overwhelm! Its just not a good place to be. And if you dont do anything to
change it, its going to get worse and worse. It can you down by causing the
following disastrous consequences.
Disaster #1. Wasted time
Its no secret that procrastination is the thief of time. And more importantly,
the thief of LIFE itself. Because life is made up of these precious moments and
if moments are wasted, life itself is wasted.
The martial arts legend Bruce Lee says that, If you love life, don't waste time,
for time is what life is made up of.
Disaster #2. Low Self-Esteem
One of the main causes of low self-esteem is breaking your promises to
yourself, which causes cognitive dissonance and incongruence within yourself
because of the widening gap between your knowledge, talk and action - not
doing what you know is right, not following through on your talk with action.
Compound that breaking of promise to self with breaking of your promise to
others, not delivering on your commitment to others, it is a major blow on
your self-esteem.
As human beings, weve been blessed with the ability to become aware of our
own thinking, behaviours and actions. Each of us has a part thats always
observing everything thats going on within us. And a little bit of us die inside
every time we break a promise - to self and others. And after a while, you
dont see yourself as being capable of keeping a promise. Thats when the
third disaster hits.
Disaster #3. Lack of trust in self, lack of confidence
For a person to be able to take action, he or she has to at least believe in
their own ability to take action that theyre capable of doing things. With out
the trust in self, you start to dread decision making, dreading taking
responsibility, again. Because of all these reference points of previous
failures to follow through on taking action and completing things, your self-
image becomes one filled with negativity, uncertainty, self-doubt and fear of
criticism. Thats when your world starts to shrink and you become smaller and
constricted by doing less, rejecting responsibility and avoiding making
decisions.
Disaster #4. Addiction
For anything that you procrastinate on and self-sabotage yourself with, there
is one or more underlying fears (For more info on these fears, check out the
next section 3 Universal Unconscious Fears). Whether it be fear of making
mistake, fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of not being enough what ever
it is, youll do a million different other things to distract yourself from facing
the fear. You might or might not realise these underlying feelings as fear, but
may identify as stress, anxiety, a knot in the stomach, frustration etc.
Repeated distraction with short term fixes, which makes you feel good when
youre indulging in them but make you feel worse afterwards, is the start of
addiction. Whether it be cleaning your desk, cleaning your room, addiction to
food through comfort eating, addiction to Facebook, Youtube, online games,
pornography, smoking amongst many other thing, theyre just unconscious
strategies that you run to keep yourself safe, protecting yourself from facing
those subtle fears.
Disaster #5. Depression
Ultimately, procrastination and self-sabotage can lead to depression. For your
life to be meaningful, you need to feel like
youre making progress in some way. Like
the saying goes, Change is automatic but
progress is not. With lots of wasted time,
self-esteem down in the dumps, lack of self-
confidence, delayed decisions, postponed
schedules and plans, fear of criticism, fear of
making mistakes, addictions eventually
youll feel like youre stuck and not going
anywhere.
And all of these will have tremendous disastrous impact on your physical
health.
So what can you do to avoid these disasters, get things done and be
productive? Even if you just get clear on your next step, it would be progress.
A one step forward. To be happy, you need to get out of being stuck and be
making progress.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To
keep your balance, you must
keep moving.
Albert Einstein
PROGRESS = HAPPINESS
MIND HACKS BEHIND THE MINDSET
3 Universal Unconscious Fears
As human beings, we all have these 3 unconscious fears. [Were not talking
about irrational fears, i.e. phobias, here]
The three fears are the fears of
!
Not being enough
!
Not being loved
!
Not belonging
Most other common fears that we have are all rooted in the above three
fears. The following fears are the most common ones that goes back to the 3
universal fears.
!
Fear of failure
!
Fear of loneliness
!
Fear of rejection
!
Fear of criticism
!
Fear of making a mistake
!
Fear of unworthiness
!
Fear of success
!
Fear of disappointment
For instance, if we take the most notorious fear, fear of public speaking, and
analyse it, its a combination of the following: the fear of appearing foolish in
front of other people, the fear of not wanting to make a fool out of oneself,
not wanting to make mistake. If I make a mistake, then Im stupid, not good
enough, people are going to criticise me, theyll know that Im failure or a
fraud, that Im not good enough and Ill get rejected and wont be liked or
loved. You get the point.
But for the sake of this exercise, well just stop here no the topic of fear. It is
enough to just be aware that behind procrastination, overwhelm or self-
sabotage, these fears are at play and we dont usually realise this. Awareness
is a good starting point. There are many things that we can do to eliminate
these fears but thats another training for another day.
The Be, Do, Have Model
Now heres an important model that this mini-worksheet is based on. Its
called the Be-Do-Have model.
BE is who you need to be.
DO is what you need to do.
HAVE stands for what you want to have.
In order for you to have what you want to have, what do you need to do?
For you to do what you need to do, who do you need to be?
So in essence, who do you need to BE for you to do what you need to DO to
have what you want to HAVE?
HAVE is called the end in mind, your final goal. It could be in the areas of
your career, marriage, health, wealth, or spiritual life. DO is the action steps,
the behaviour, what needs to be done. BE is your being, your thinking,
mindset, value set and beliefs.
Many people get stuck, procrastinate and self-sabotage* because they focus
on the Do.
They dont get clear on what they really want. Theyre not clear on their
intention, purpose or outcome. Not clear on their big Why!
And they dont have the mindset, values and beliefs, i.e. a way of BEING, that
they need to have in place to allow them to DO or ACT in a way that will
produce the results or outcome that they want and fulfill their purpose.
BE ! DO ! HAVE
Start with the end in mind.
" Stephen R. Covey
We as human beings dont live in only the physical or
material world. We also have three other dimensions
that are called spiritual, emotional and mental. So how
we are BEING spiritually, emotionally and mentally
affects things we DO and the results we get or HAVE in
the physical world, the reality.
So in simple terms, to change our behaviours, actions,
and what we do and the result we get, we need to change who we are being.
Most people have this idea that Oh, I just want to be myself and thats where
part of the problem lies. Who you are currently is getting you your current
result. That doesnt mean you have to be someone who youre not! But you
need to look at your thinking, your values and beliefs, that are getting you the
result, or lack there of.
So what does it mean to BE a certain way. BEING, for the sake of this
exercise, is based mainly on our own individual values and beliefs. Our
actions, or behaviours, are the consequences of our values and beliefs which
affect the way we think and feel.
The problem lies in just focusing on the physical, the outwardly Action and
Result (the DO and the HAVE). The fastest way to change something thats
not working for you is to change the thinking which is a basis for your feelings.
Our thinking and what we choose to focus on affects our emotions and how
we feel. Our feelings lead to certain behaviours or actions. And result is the
last thing in the chain. Our results reinforces our thinking and feeling. For the
cycle to change, we need to change it by changing our thinking.
Thinking ! Feeling ! Action ! Result
Verily, God does not change the condition of a people until
they change what is within themselves.
[Quran 13:11]
SPIRITUAL
EMOTIONAL
MENTAL
PHYSICAL
Hierarchy of Ideas
Hierarchy of What?
Heres this amazing model, from Neuro-Linguistic Programming, called
Hierarchy of Ideas. If you just learn and master this thinking model, you can
easily solves most thinking related challenges that you have in life. A vast
majority of people get stuck because they are not aware that they can simple
transform their experience by applying this model of strategic thinking. Its
called the Hierarchy of Ideas because its ideas in a hierarchy.
It is taking an idea, a concept or an object and asking different questions to
go up, lateral or down. Lets just do this as an example.
Lets take the phone Samsung Xperia as an example and apply the hierarchy
of ideas.
Chunking Up
What is Samsung Xperia an example of? A smart phone.
What is a smart phone an example of? A wireless communication device. (Or
a small computer, an internet browser etc)
What is the purpose of a wireless communication device? To communicate
while on the move.
What is communication on the move an example of? A form of
communication.
What is the purpose of communication? To get an ideas/a message across.
Chunking Across
What is another example of A smart phone? An Apple iPhone
What are other examples of a smart phone? HTC, Nokia N95, Motorola Razr
etc.
Chunking Down
What is an example of a smart phone? An Apple iPhone
What is an example of an iPhone? iPhone 5.
What is an example of an iPhone 5? An iPhone 5 in black color.
What is an example of a black iPhone 5? The one that I have here in my hand.
What is the one thing that your iPhone 5 has that other iPhone 5s dont have?
This one has got both the front and the back screen protectors on.
What does the front screen protector do? It protects the display.
How specifically does it protect the display? By protecting it from getting
damaged.
What is an example of a damage? A scratch or a crack.
OR
What is special about this screen/display? Its a Retina display.
What is a Retina display? Its a blah blah blah etc
I think you get the idea now. We go across different chunk levels by asking
different questions.
We, as different individuals, operate at different chunk levels. There are
people who are naturally good at seeing the big picture (high chunk level) and
then there are those who are naturally good with the details (low chunk level).
And then there are some who are comfortable doing both.
Usually, when were stuck and feel like theres no choice, were stuck in the
details. So we can chunk up to find the outcome or purpose that were
looking for, then chunk across to find alternatives, then chunk down to get
specific, then take action.
If youre being overwhelmed, then youre in the high chunk level with no clear
specific action steps. Get clear on your outcome, get clear on specific actions
to take and just start by doing one thing at a time.
Chunking up, or getting abstract, by asking the questions:
Whats the purpose of?
Whats this an example of?
Chunking across or laterally by asking:
What is another example of?
Chunking down, or getting specic, by asking:
What is an example of ?
What specifically is this ?
If youre procrastinating, youre probably in the details, seeing only the task
and lost the big picture, the purpose of doing the task.
Chunk up: Whats the purpose of me doing this task?
Chunk across: Whats another way of getting to the purpose?
Chunk down: What is one action I can take now?
For instance, if Im procrastinating on going to the gym.
Chunk up: Whats the purpose of me going to the gym?
Answer: To get fit.
For what purpose do I want to get fit?
Answer: To have great energy, feel great and be more productive.
Chunk across: What another way of getting fit without going to the gym?
Answer: To take a walk or go for a run.
Chunk down: Where can I go for a run? How long am I going to run?
Answer: Around the block for 15 minutes.
The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same
level of thinking with which we created them.
Albert Einstein
Worksheet
Ok. I would like you to write down the action that youre procrastinating on or
the issue that youre overwhelmed about.
_______________________________________________
Then just simply answer the following questions one by one.
Finding the higher purpose!
What is the outcome that Im looking for by doing this action?
What would it mean for me if I achieve this?
What would it mean for my loved ones?
For what purpose am I doing this?
Chuck Up
Why?, For what purpose?, Whats the outcome?
Finding alternatives!
How can I go about achieving this?
How else can I get this done?
Who else has done this?
Who can I talk to? Who else can I ask for help?
Specific Action Steps
What specific actions do I take?
What information do I need? Where do I get this information?
Who do you need to ask? Who do I call? When will I call them?
What are the specific action steps that I need to take?
Chunk Down
Specic, Details, Who, What steps, How many, How long, What time, etc.
Chunk Across
What Else, How else, Who else, Where else, When?
Changing your Thinking
Who do you need to BE to take the specific action(s) that you came up with in
the last section?
What do you need to believe about yourself?
Here is a number of very useful beliefs that I have adopted from my mentors
and coaches. (Almost nothing that Im sharing with you here is my own. They
are what Ive learned from those whove gone before me, applied them to
myself and have amazing results with )
Awesome Beliefs
There is no such thing as failure, there is only feedback.
I'm a learning machine
I choose to be fascinated instead of frustrated.
Im infinitely curious.
Every master was once a disaster.
What other people think of me is none of my business.
There is always a way and I'll find a way.
I will figure it out.
Please remember something here - the beliefs that you have about yourself are what
youve made up. There is no right or wrong. Its just whether your beliefs works in your
favour or not. Since youre making it up anyway, you might as well make up something
useful and empowering to believe in. Its as simple as deciding to believe that
something is true for you.
It is your decision, and not your condition, that determines who you are.
" Anthony Robbins
Make a Decision and Follow Through with An Action
Make your decisions based on where you want to be in the future, not based
on your current mood or feelings. How will your best self make the decision?
What will you decide if you're already that person?
Now based on the answers that you came up before, prioritise the series of
steps that you need to take to get your outcome. Take the first action step
before you leave your computer/desk. If an action cant be taken right now,
schedule it in your calendar or set an alarm. It is very important that you
follow up your decision with an immediate action to get the ball rolling and
build momentum.
What's the one thing/ the first thing that you need to do?
_______________________________________________
What's the second action step you need to take?
_______________________________________________
What's the third?
_______________________________________________
The fourth?
_______________________________________________
The fifth?
_______________________________________________
I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.
" Stephen R. Covey
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning
all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of
which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely
commits oneself, then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A
whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in ones favor all manner
of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man
could have dreamed would have come his way.
William Hutchinson Murray
END
Congratulations! Thank you for sticking till the end and completing this. How
good do you feel now that got clear on your outcome and action steps! I trust
you have already takes the first step and achieved some result!
Keep taking action. When youve got your intention and purpose clear and
know your outcome, you will find a way to make it happen. Its usually the first
step thats tough because of the inertia.
It has always been your decision to break out
of that inertia of the same old same old, the
inertia of the mundane and mediocrity. And
create something great, grand and awesome
for your future. It all starts with your decision.
And your commitment with action!
Thank you again for taking the time to finish this workbook. I trust that it has
helped you. Please feel free to forward it to your friends and those who
struggle with getting clear and staying productive.
Please get in touch with me. I would love to get to know you better and hear
how it has helped you. And if you have any other challenges that I can help
solve, by all means, just shoot me an email.
Please let me know if you have any comments or questions by emailing me or
connecting on Facebook. Let me know what worked for you, what didnt so
that I can fix, improve and add other techniques and models for those that will
get this later.
To your ultimate success,
Thurein Win
thurein@heartcoresuccess.com
facebook.com/heartcoresuccess
Whatever you can do, or dream
you can do, begin it. Boldness has
genius, power, and magic in it.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of
deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and
shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and
who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and
timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt

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OVERCOME OVERWHELM,

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