The Push Yourself Pause

Power Pause #5:  The Push Yourself Pause

Outcome: You’ll get it done and feel great doing it.

Also known as the stamina or get-up-and-do-it pause, this pause is especially useful when you are exhausted, apathetic, or personally paralyzed for any reason. It’s a procrastination buster, energy booster and rationalization reverser. It will get you out of bed and into action; give you the energy to persist and the drive to do more; unlock the safety latch and get you out of your comfort zone; turn “intend to do” or “should do” into “must do,” and . . . give you a winner’s advantage that will see you through whatever you push yourself to accomplish. Get ready to GO because there is no opt out option once you put the push yourself pause in motion. Bottom line: If you have spent more time thinking about it then it would actually take to do it, then this pause is for you.

Since the push yourself pause is generally used to carry out a task that is right in front of you (the endless inbox) and even more often to tackle one or more of the monkeys on your back (projects, reports, filing taxes), strong visualization with very specific narrative gets the best result. You have to visualize yourself doing the task, very specifically and most importantly, completing the task. The narrative is what you make it but it should be meant to meet the goal with ease and enthusiasm. Once you do this, the burden will lift and so will any anxiety you have attached to the task. The push may not turn to pure pleasure but the accomplishment most certainly will.