There is an ancient saying which goes, "He who waits, waits forever." Literally, the more times you put something off, the harder it becomes to initiate action. This is partly due to the fact that each time you procrastinate or avoid taking action, you reinforce a negative (delaying the initiation of positive action.) The longer you procrastinate about something, the more your subconscious becomes programmed to associate postponement or avoidance with a certain activity. And if persisted in long enough, procrastinating can - and will - become a life abridging habit!

But, like all habits, it can be broken. To do so, you must establish and reinforce a new, success inciting action response to replace your habit of "putting something off." In time, this drive to take action will become your natural habitual response to situations. And, you'll then find yourself making personal life progress beyond what you may have ever thought possible!

The following is a success action-initiating process I've developed, and use successfully with clients to overcome procrastination. Read it through in its entirety before applying it within your own life concerns. Remember, excuses and alibis equal failure; they lead people to look outside themselves for reasons why they're not successful. Realize though that any/all reasons for failure always lie within us!

Here's how YOU can now clearly break out of the procrastination trap...FOREVER:

1.) Make engaging or resolving the situation or task you keep putting off a high priority concern — Frequently think about being Pro-Active, and becoming involved. And think of your involvement as a positive opportunity to achieve an important personal goal (one enabling you to assert your true ability, success capacity, and competence). Write notes to yourself to initiate action in the area you've been putting off, and post these in areas where they'll frequently be seen (ex. car, room, office, bathroom mirror, etc.). This helps to direct your thinking toward the goal, and keeps the idea of applying yourself a primary action in your consciousness. Be sure not to judge this procedure before you try it. The purpose here is to keep your mind continually occupied with the idea of starting to take action. Apply yourself as outlined, and you'll be surprised at how fast you'll change!

2.) Twice daily, consider how applying yourself, and achieving the goal, will positively effect your life; once during the initial part of your day, and once during the latter part, visualize how you conceive your life will be after you've totally successfully dealt with or achieved the objective. Focus on sensations of confidence, strength, and ability. Feel a strong sense of pride in having done it. Clearly, graphically depict this "Future You", experiencing the goal as an already accomplished fact in your mind.

3.) Think about DOING, not about excuses-- your intention is to become ACTION fueled. So each and every time you find yourself rationalizing or making excuses, mentally exclaim the word "STOP". As the word "STOP" obliterates the "excuse" train of thought, then substitute action initiating ideas. Inwardly TELL yourself to act, follow through, and exercise the necessary discipline. Instead of finding reasons not to do, you're directly implanting reasons TO do! This positive, redirection of thought fosters an action pre-disposition, and a commitment to yourself (and to accomplishing your goal)!

4.) Break the process (of engeging what you've been putting off) down into smaller, more easily manageable parts. These smaller parts can be more effectively dealt with, as you don't waste unnecessary emotional energy trying to tackle a potentially overwhelming, complex whole. (For example, let's say you've been saying you want to get into shape. but you find yourself procrastinating about engaging required factors. Now, you'd just focus on (and deal with) one aspect of the process until you've mastered it, and feel satisfied with your results. Then expand your thinking to include another aspect, then another, and so on until you're confidently, enthusiastically engaging the whole. For example, first attend to your diet, then your workout efforts, then increasing aerobic exercises, etc.)

5.) Maintain cumulative discipline -- your objective is to initiate action, to take the first step, and then consistently build upon it. After you've broken the objective into smaller parts, become completely absorbed into dealing with only the part you're addressing. Concentrate your full awareness on what you're doing while you do it, and focus on expressing a peak performance effort and demonstrating maximum completion effectiveness.

When you're satisfied with your level of success and competency (handeling a chosen task or aspect), then move forward to your next chosen aspect. The successful mastering of each aspect will afford you feelings of confidence, competence, and self belief. This strengthens your effort when attending to each new aspect, as you'll have positive expectations and greater knowledge of your capabilities. Remember: The whole is the sum of its parts. The stronger and more successfully addressed each part is, the stronger the whole becomes.

6.) Reinforce yourself — acknowledge yourself for action taken and progress made. Become acutely aware of the feelings of accomplishment and self respect that result as you surpass previous limitations and purposefully act in your own behalf. Emotionally bask in the wonderful feeling of having done it, and reward yourself appropriately because you stuck to it and saw it all-the-way-through. Start small and steadily build. You'll be powerfully motivated to act and further pursue the successful achievement of your goal (objective). Once you get going on a proactive roll, it's hard to stop. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, you'll gain greater confidence, determination, and momentum. Each small success "snowballs" into larger success until, through diligent effort, your actions have taken you where you wanted to go.

There is a Chinese saying which nicely supports the above philosophy — "A thousand mile journey begins with the first step." Take the initiative and do it now! The sooner you start, the sooner you'll get there.

Commit now to yourself and your goal, and apply the above outlined process. You'll then become a person of action. Remember: Only through doing will you accomplish!