There are very few external forces specifically inhibiting our ability to be productive. Most of the day to day forces acting on us that determines how productive and successful we will be, comes from one place, ourselves. Because these influences come from within, we have absolute power to define and direct them wherever we want. The problem is very few of us are able to realize and subsequently execute that power. These internal forces that impede our progress, are roadblocks and make it difficult to get things done. The types of roadblocks that we face are not new, they’re very common. The problem though is that few of us realize that these roadblocks are truly a creation of our own doing. However, once we realize that they are something we can control, then the possibilities of what we can accomplish will become endless. There are three roadblocks that make it particularly difficult to get things done. Let’s go through them one by one and see if these are truly something being imposed on us or are they of our own making.
Three roadblocks that stop us from getting things done
The first roadblock is that there is no meaning and purpose in the goals we set for ourselves. This is extremely important because if the end result does not have any value for us, there is no way we are going to want to spend any energy getting there. Usually, this happens when we adopt other people’s goals, or we haven’t taken the time to truly identify our own values. Worse yet we think we need to overhaul something when just a slight tweak is needed. Does everyone need to have a beach body, it would be nice but not really. Most people just want to feel and look healthy. The path to achieving these two different but similar goals is drastically different. A beach body requires a strict exercise and diet regiment, daily tracking of calories, etc. Increasing overall health, however, would only require you being a little more conscious of the foods you eat, picking a basic exercise routine and sticking with it 2-3 times per week. The intensity and focus of achieving the first goal is much more than the latter.
Roadblock number two, when there is no meaning and purpose, there is absolutely not going to be any desire to start and make any progress. It all comes down to a simple question, given our free time will we choose to use it pursuing an aim that we have no inherent desire to achieve? That’s a rhetorical question, of course not. Sometimes we might start, but we used up soo much energy in that process that it becomes more difficult to continue, especially for long enough to start seeing the benefits. Often times the hardest part of completing a task is starting it and the second if not just as difficult is continuing, have you ever thought why? It’s because of the first roadblock. The goals we set are not our own and we cannot truly relate to them. Once we solve the first roadblock, we can break free from our resting state. We will naturally find the energy and motivation to begin anything that will get us to the end goal because that end goal is now truly something we desire.
To what extent have you gone to avoid doing exactly what you know you need to do? The third roadblock is something everyone in history has suffered from, some much less than others, but suffered nonetheless. Libraries of books and dissertations have been written about this topic. I’m talking about procrastination, the bane of all things productive. It starts off with a task we THINK we want to do, related to a goal we THINK we want to achieve. But because this goal is not truly personal we find it very difficult to start any work related to this. Our brain removes this contradiction by providing a tempting list of lower priority things to do. Once we get these done we will be ready to be productive. Our room needs to be cleaned, that is definitely more important to do right now than some task related to a goal we don’t care about. Vacuuming the carpet is definitely important When was the last time you cleaned behind the fridge, if we don’t do that now, all hell will break loose.
This is all an elaborate ruse and your brain doesn’t want you to face the reality that you are not really invested in the goals you set for yourself. Almost anything else that you could be doing has much more meaning to you. The self-deception that happens is that your brain tells you that while the original goal is important you need to finish these other “lower priority tasks” first. After that, you will be primed and ready to seize the day and get things done. Does that sound familiar? The problem is that while these tasks are a low priority in the grand scheme of things, they are high priority relative to what you originally thought you wanted to do.
People always do whatever is the highest priority for them at any given moment, whether they realize it or not
Your brain tells you that these small tasks are in the way of achieving your true goals, they’re “roadblocks”. In reality, you never wanted to achieve this goal in the first place. Therefore your brain is able to come up with an infinite amount of higher priority tasks that you could be doing at any given moment.
These three roadblocks all flow together. If we haven’t chosen the right goals, ones that truly reflect who we are and our values then we won’t find any meaning or value in whatever the big picture of what we want to accomplish is. It is that inherent value that motivates us to do anything. Without it, we don’t have any desire to start, to do anything that will get us closer to that goal. Our brain tricks us, it deceives us into not realizing that the goal we have chosen is not inherently valuable to us, so it gives us other things to do that is more desirable than the goal we set for ourselves. Since we don’t realize this deception, we think we have a problem with procrastination when in actuality it’s completely the opposite. It is those times when we “procrastinate” that we are at our most productive because everything we are doing during those times is the thing that has the most meaning to us at that moment.
Barriers are only effective if you let them stop you
It might sound like what I’m saying is that cleaning under the couch is the most meaningful thing you can do…I AM. Specifically, at that moment. But it does not have to be that way, all we have to do is realign our goals with our priorities. Once we do that, then we will naturally work on the right tasks that bring us closer to our goals. Once you find something you’re passionate about that truly aligns with your values, you are going to feel highly motivated and it’s going to give you that extra energy you need to get it done. You are naturally going to want to start it because it’s what you want to do in the first place.
So what is a goal that you feel like you’ve been having a lot of trouble trying to achieve? Now ask yourself, is this goal as it is defined truly yours? Maybe there’s another version of the same goal that is more suited to your actual values and desires? Or maybe you just need to view it in a different light? Once you figure out how to align your goals with your values, the road to success might not be as difficult as you once thought.
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