Eat a frog, I dare you.
TL;DR
When I start with "eating the frog" (doing the task I am avoiding/procrastinating), I can’t tell you the relief and pride I feel once it is behind me! It’s like a 10-ton weight lifted off my shoulders — all of a sudden I am breathing easier.
Are you a rockstar at starting lots of projects?
Do you choose to do other tasks that seem easier when you know there's something else you really should be doing with your time?
Let's face it, we can be experts at getting everything done but the most important task at hand — that's usually the one that hangs over us for days, weeks, sometimes even months before we get started. And the longer it festers…well, you know where this is going.
My friends, it's time to face the monster in the closet: Procrastination.
Whether it's cleaning your room, updating your contacts, or even returning a simple email that's permanently taken up residence in your inbox, I think it's fair to say that we all know too well the side effects of procrastination: guilt, shame, remorse, anger, regret…am I striking a chord?
(I'll imagine your head is nodding yes, Betsy, yes I get it!)
Mark Twain famously said:
“If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.”
And I totally agree.
When I start with "eating the frog" (doing the task I am avoiding/procrastinating), I can’t tell you the relief and pride I feel once it is behind me!
It’s like a 10-ton weight lifted off my shoulders and all of a sudden I am breathing easier. You know what I mean, right?
One of the pillars of the process that I teach in The Creative Path course is committing to eating at least one frog per week (tackling one challenging task from your action list each week). You will be surprised how invigorating it can be, and how much more gets accomplished!
We’ve even created a Frog Cafe in our Path online community for all of our alumni to come and tackle hard tasks together! (Alumni: email hello@capesco.com to learn more about our Path&Co. community!)
My challenge for you all this week:
Identify ONE frog that you have been putting off for the past few days/weeks.Tell a trusted friend what it is, and then make a solid plan to eat that frog THIS WEEK (make sure it’s a bite size action and not a project. If it’s a Project, you will want to first break it down into as many actions as you can think of and then do the first one, that will be your frog).
Happy frog-eating!
Ribbit-ribbit,
Betsy