You know those days when you’ve got a laundry list of dreaded tasks (that probably includes the laundry) and no matter what, you just can’t get yourself to do it. The mere thought of ‘things I don’t want to do’ weighs heavily on us. I’m talking sweats, heart palpitations and shallow breathing. The most masterful avoiders will likely clock some hours watching Netflix, scanning Instagram, frankly (anything else) not on the Dreaded-List.
So what’s actually going on? And how the heck do we get out of this cycle?
First, our brains are funny. Really. Think of the mental bandwidth required to avoid doing stuff that would probably take less than an hour. And why? Because at some point we had a thought about those activities that went something like “this stuff sucks!!” We made it mean something bigger. The result is - nothing we dread gets done.
Part two - how do we get out of this cycle? For starters, just being aware of what we are doing helps. But that will only take you so far. Here’s my helpful tip: have a catchphrase ready.
When you notice (your brain) telling you how this thing sucks and that’s a drag and you’d rather just eat ice cream or watch your favourite show than do xxxxx (insert task here), pull out this catchphrase - “And I do it anyway.”
I know it doesn’t sound like much. But put it on repeat and I promise the Dreaded-List will be the Done-List in no time!
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