How Procrastination Keeps You From Being Your Own Hero

By Jennifer Elizabeth Masters

My readers have shared that my best posts seem to be the ones where I share my personal experiences of growth, realization, evolution, and enlightenment. Today's post is a personal experience where I procrastinated for a year on a seemingly small thing which became a huge event. When I finally resolved the issue, I wondered why I waited so long, as I became a hero in my community.

Before enlighenment, chop the wood, light the fires, cook the meals. After enlightenment, chop the wood, light the fires, cook the meals. 

I may write about my life openly. The dichotomy is that I am a private person. I hesitate to open my underwear drawer as I call it to express this story with you. My request is that you keep an open mind, reserve judgment and ask yourself where you have done something similar in your life which kept you from your highest good as well?

Procrastination makes mountains out of molehills. The longer we put off doing something to correct the issue, the larger the issue becomes. JEM

Last August a long-time friend asked me to help him financially so he could leave Georgia and travel to California. In return, he would build me a new website. I paid his expenses, and he drove across the country all the way to California. While he was driving, I prepared for his arrival setting up my back bedroom, which was a storage area, cleaning every corner of my home making everything spotless and comfortable for his arrival.

I love a clean and Zen-like home. Because of the work I do from my home, the energy is high, peaceful and serene. When people

come inside, they always remark at how good the energy feels. I meditate daily. I Ascend every day, doing mantras several times a day. I keep my energy high and cleared daily.

Even so, there are certain tasks I would rather not do, cleaning my oven is one of them. In fact, I would rather visit my gynecologist than clean my oven, and that is not a visit I enjoy. So here I was with little time remaining. I sprayed the oven in preparation to clean it but ran out of time to complete the task. 

The entire three months my friend lived in my home we avoided using the oven as we were both so busy working on my website that there wasn't time to clean it. The oven cleaner dried and hardened and became a huge mountain for me to overcome. Each time I thought about roasting something in the over, I realized that I had a seemingly insurmountable task to overcome to do so. 

Each time I had a thought about the oven it added to the negativity.

Thanksgiving came and went. I couldn't even cook a turkey in my oven for the homeless shelter which is one of my favorite things to do. I felt guilty about not making myself buckle down and just get the job done. The energy of the dirty oven became greater due to my thoughts about it being unfinished. The longer I waited to clean the oven the more difficult the task became. 

I created such an energy around the oven-cleaning-event that it was insurmountable. I couldn't muster the energy to take care of the job. Negative energy built up around the oven which had an impact on me. Each time I considered  cooking something baked, I had to tell myself, "Well you can't cook that your oven is still dirty!" I missed making my favorite winter dish roasted Brussels sprouts in olive oil. 

I was invited to three potluck dinners where I was asked to bring a desert. I make a killer cheesecake that I knew people would love, but I couldn't do it because my oven was dirty.

An entire year came and went, and I managed to work around my oven. I cooked everything in my toaster oven or on top of my stove for an entire year!

I had been systematically cleaning every nook, cranny and closet in every part of my home beginning in the spring. My closets, refrigerator, and cabinets were zen-like, ordered and spotless; but my oven was still a dark, bleak portal of negativity! 

Mercury Retrograde provides the energy to get old energy resolved and released. I decided to use the energy of this Mercury Retrograde to resolve the issue with my oven. The current Mercury Retrograde period ends on September 22nd. I knew I had to resolve the issue before the end of September to use the energy of Mercury to move me along to resolution.

Finally, I was invited to a pool party and celebration of our hosts 40-years of sobriety and drug-free life, in Los Angeles  I knew the time had come to remove the ridiculous mountain weighing down my kitchen and entire home. I had to overcome the huge story I had created and my resistance to finally muster the courage to face my least favorite cleaning task in the entire world. 

Following are the steps I took to overcome my resistance:

1. I created a plan that set myself up for success. 
2. I gave myself the time I needed to ensure ever contingency was covered.
3. I accepted the invitation to the pot-luck dinner party several days before.
4. With my RSVP, I committed to fresh baked gluten free vegan cookies which set the wheels in motion for success.
5. I psyched myself up for the task. 
6. I ran into a snag. I couldn't find the recipe for the banana nut, coconut cookies. I asked several people. I searched the Internet. Not even my daughter could remember the magical cookie recipe that was so delicious.
7. I decided to raise the bar higher and make black bean brownies instead. I knew they would be a hit, it made me feel better about cleaning the oven. I had tasted them in Georgia at the Naked Healthy event. They were delicious and healthy.
8. Friday on the way home from the beach I stopped and bought a
   
   roll of paper towels to make my cleaning job easier. I knew I had a pair of rubber gloves from doing Ariel's hair purple.
9. I got up at 5:30 Saturday morning, making sure I had enough time to clean the oven, buy the ingredients and bake something.
10. I sprayed the oven while I fed my animals. I gave the spray the full two hours to do its job.
11. I took the wire racks outside and sprayed them on the concrete patio and left them to work in the heat.
12. I took the dogs out to the desert and did my dancing - I was still taking care of myself while I worked through the issue.
13. I used the time cleaning the oven to do mantras, prayers for the highest good of the oven, the bean brownies, and my highest success.
14. I thought positive, loving thoughts while I cleaned every inch of dirt from the oven. 
15. I carefully made sure I rinsed all chemicals from all four sides of the oven, washing and re-washing again.
16. Instead of beating myself up while performing the task, I laughed at myself and how difficult I made the job seem in my head. 
17. Rather than hating what I was doing, I had a positive attitude about getting the job completed before Thanksgiving. 
18. I didn't focus on the negative thoughts or think how stupid I was, or how bad a person I was because I had procrastinated.
19. I lovingly accepted my quirkiness and wrapped love around

    

    like new!

    myself and the work I was doing.
20. I sprayed the racks off with the garden hose and then scrubbed anything remaining with the scouring pad. They looked amazing!

After over an entire year of procrastinating, thinking about cleaning the oven and how I didn't want to face it, can you guess how long it took me to do the entire job?

In one hour, while listening to an uplifting video, I cleaned the oven to the point that it looked brand new. The job was completed in record time because I had the best tools for the job. 

• I had paper towels, so I didn't have to rinse my sponge out a thousand times. 
• I used a fumeless oven cleaner, so I didn't get toxic chemicals in my nose. 
• I adopted a positive attitude focusing only on the job at hand rather than the negativity of the past.
• I congratulated and celebrated that I did the job well.
• I focused only on the present, the clean oven.

I took the time to drive eleven miles to Wal-mart in Lancaster, rather than opting for the convenience of the local higher priced grocery store. I saved over $20.00 by making the trip to Wal-mart. I congratulated myself on taking the longer route rather than the short-cut of the more expensive but convenient store. I didn't opt for the quick fix, as I wouldn't have solved the problem but created another one. I would have felt guilty about spending money I didn't need to. 

I continued to take care of my needs every step of the way.

I made the bean brownies according to my son's friend Ndine's recommendations. Ndine is a beautiful soul and owner of BareFood Wellness. 

She left off the vinegar and pumpkin syrup. Luckily I had pure maple syrup at home. I had never made black bean brownies before but knew they tasted incredible. They are a healthy version of the delicious but sugary treat. 

I packed the brownie into my car, allowing them to cool during the hour drive to LA. As I arrived, I had people following me into the kitchen. 

A line formed as I cut them into squares. One yoga teacher

named Scott, loaded up a plate with four brownies to share with his table. When people heard I had black bean brownies there were squeals of delight. I was a hero! My brownies were a hit and so appreciated. Every last crumb was eaten. I took home a clean and empty dish.

Isn't it time that you became your own hero? How long are you going to wait be completely aligned with your soul? How long will you wait to have the life, relationship, and love you so desire?

How long will you wait to get your internal self-feeling positive, loving, totally accepted, whole and happy? 

Isn't it time you stopped putting off being your own hero? Why don't you contact me for your free discovery session to align with your soul essence, feel whole, complete, perfect as you are and confident being you? 

Join the thousands I have helped to empower and step into their highest version of themselves, self-actualization. I would love to partner with you to share my wisdom and how I became completely happy, fulfilled and confident in my own skin. 

I love you,

Jennifer

How Being Wishy-Washy Makes You Unhappy

By Jennifer Elizabeth Masters

I've never been able to plan my life. I just lurch from indecision to indecision. Alan Rickman

When we attempt to make a decision and waver we are caught in an endless loop of procrastination. We put off making a decision because we can't decide. We experience stress, guilt and even shame for not being able to choose. We are frozen in fear. Being indecisive causes procrastination and chaos.

The fear of making the wrong decision comes from unresolved emotions of the negative variety.

Perhaps one or both of your parents were domineering. You may have been prevented from making decisions on your own as a child. Insecurity is at the core of this issue. Without a strong inner authority, there is passivity. Strengthening your inner core through self-love is what is needed.  

Imagine yourself as a young child. You are forced to choose between a toy you want very much and a less expensive toy. Your dominant parent stands over you demanding, "Make a decision and do it fast!" You realize that your parent wants you to either choose no toy at all or the less expensive one. You point fearfully at the

more expensive toy. Your parent rolls their eyes and reprimands you in an aggressive tone, "There is no way I am spending that much on a toy! Forget it!" Your parent grabs your hand and drags you unwittingly out of the store without any toy at all. You are crestfallen, writhing in intense feelings of guilt, anguish, and loss.

The painful experience created by our decision causes us to fear the consequences of making a decision. Childhood wounds create a program and resistance to fear the worst case scenario.

How To Stop Toxic Parenting

Whether the above example or something similar happened to you in your childhood, the reason you can't make decisions and feel secure about your choice is due to events in your childhood. It could be you had a parent who bullied or was domineering.

Years later a strong inner critic runs the show. You are probably terrified to make a choice because it will inevitably be the wrong one causing you to feel guilty. You become frozen.

My Personal Story

My personal experience involved five dollars and a concertina at a church basement bazaar. I remember the event as clearly as it was yesterday. My mother gave me the five dollar bill which was a huge deal for me and told me I could spend it as I wished. 

We went to a church bazaar where she left me to wander around to see if there was anything I wanted. I had located a beautiful little concertina (a small squeezebox that played music). I was fascinated by this little musical instrument I cold hold in my hands. I had never had anything like it. I spent the entire time looking at it. 

In retrospect it could have been the fact that it was a noise-maker, I'm not sure. I stood talking to the man, but in fear I would make a choice that would disappoint my mother. When the time came for me to make a final decision, my mother informed me in a very domineering way, "You couldn't possibly want to spend all your money on that!" She pulled me away while my head spun around longingly at the man behind the table holding my concertina. 

Resulting Trauma Into Adulthood

This event caused me deep trauma. I was given money and told I could have whatever I wanted. When I found what I wanted, my mother then told me I couldn't have it. A looping thought was created in my brain that caused me to buy whatever I wanted as an adult.

I feel that this one event contributed to my shopping addiction later in life. When I wanted something, I just bought it to hell with the consequences, until I healed this aspect of myself. 

10 Things Happy People Do Daily

What Is The Worst That Will Happen?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the consequence I am afraid of?
2. What do I believe will happen when I make a decision?
3. What is the meaning I associate with decision-making?
4. What makes decision-making so uncomfortable for me?
5. What am I resisting or running away from?
6. What is underneath all of this?
7. What is this issue teaching you about what you want?

Whatever We Resist Persists

If we continue to resist decision-making, it will never get easier. We have to change our behavior and find a way to make decisions feel more comfortable. Clearing the childhood pattern that created this pattern will help to move you forward and alleviate the problem. Hiring a coach to help build positive self-confidence will fast forward your process. It took me over thirty years to get there on my own.

Herbert Simon coined the phrase satisficing in 1956 that prioritized a satisfactory solution over an optimal solution. When we get stuck in what is the best option, we freeze. 

Tips For Decision-Making

1. Focus positively on what you want.
2. Decide what criteria need to be met (X, Y, and Z).
3. Once the criteria are met stop researching. 
4. Less is more! More information has been scientifically proven to cause you more angst and indecision. 
5. Know that you don't have to find the optimal choice, instead, go for satisfactory. 
6. Simplify rather than complicate with too much information.
7. The more you align your energy with what you want the faster you bring it to you.
8. Even making no decision is a decision.
9. You always have a choice.
10. What feels the best for you?
11. Trust your gut. 
12. Every choice we make brings us closer to what we want.
13. You can't make a wrong decision.

If you don't choose for yourself, the universe will choose for you.

Your tough inner critic will condemn you no matter which way you turn. Quiet that inner voice by saying, "I don't have to listen to you!" Trust your gut.

The source of this issue is from feeling helpless and insecure. Focus on strengthening your confidence. Hire a love coach that gets you, and knows how to get you to HAPPY. Jennifer has been where you are and understands and intuits the root cause. Visit Jennifer's website where you can sign up for her FREE newsletter, download her FREE APP with over 7 hours of sessions, energy clearings and even a hypnotherapy session for success!

Find Jennifer's books on Amazon.com

Jennifer is currently writing her third book:
Happy Here, Happy Anywhere: The Step-By-Step Guide To Overcoming Anxiety, Depression, and Unhappiness Without A Prescription!

Jennifer is a healed healer. Certified as a Hypnotherapist with The National Guild of Hypnotherapy, An NLP Practioner and a Certified Life Coach.