I’ll never forget the time my laptop keyboard stopped working properly. The space bar was dodgy, and instead of just taking it back to the shop, I put it off. And off. And off again. For MONTHS.
Every time I thought about returning it, I’d talk myself out of it. “It’ll be a battle.” “They won’t believe me.” “It’ll be a massive hassle.” I built it up into this huge, terrifying ordeal in my head.
And then when I finally stomped into the shop in full stroppy mode? A lovely young man took one look, said “yep, that keyboard is faulty – we’ll get it sorted for you” and it was done in two minutes. TWO MINUTES. After months of stressing about it.
We Do This In Business ALL The Time
How many times have you put off doing something in your business because you’ve built it up into a mountain in your head?
“I need to raise my prices but my clients will hate me.” (They probably won’t even blink.)
“I need to post a Reel on Instagram but I’ll look stupid.” (Nobody is watching as closely as you think.)
“I need to set up my email marketing but I don’t understand the tech.” (Flodesk takes about 20 minutes to learn.)
“I need to chase that invoice but they’ll think I’m being aggressive.” (They’ll just pay it.)
The Cost Of Putting Things Off
Every day you spend avoiding the “scary thing” is a day your business isn’t growing. Those prices you haven’t raised? That’s money you’re leaving on the table. That Reel you haven’t posted? That’s visibility you’re missing. That email list you haven’t started? That’s relationships you’re not building.
The task itself almost NEVER takes as long or feels as bad as you think it will. It’s the anticipation that’s the killer.
How To Stop Making Mountains
Set a timer for 10 minutes and just START the thing you’ve been avoiding. Usually, once you’ve started, it’s not nearly as bad as you thought.
Ask yourself: “What’s the worst that can actually happen?” Not the catastrophic scenario your brain has invented, but the realistic worst case. It’s usually completely manageable.
Do the scary thing FIRST thing in the morning. Get it done before your brain has time to talk you out of it. Mark Twain called this “eating the frog.”
That thing you’ve been putting off? Go and do it. Right now. I promise you, it won’t be as bad as you think. And you’ll feel SO much better once it’s done.