DECISION : THE ENEMY OF PROCRASTINATION
Image : Seisha hitchū, "true shooting, certain hitting" from Zen: Direct Pointing to Reality, Anne Bancroft, 1979
Over the course of the next few weeks, we will explore Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, under a modern Benshen-esque lens. Though one might believe that wealth only equals money, “rich” expands beyond that: it means being able to create prosperity in your life, which can take shape in many different forms. Money is just one medium. Prosperity goes so far beyond financial gains and Hill, with his 13 Principles of Success and teachings on the Laws of the Universe, pioneered a unique roadmap to excellence and how to unlock prosperity—one that focuses on how to program our mental faculties rather than lean on external circumstances.
LAW No. 7 SEVEN: DECISION
- DO IT NOW -
“There is nothing in the world that ever springs spontaneously perfect. Creation, emanation, and evolution are cosmic laws, and they are human laws, too...Do it now! We may only have one one-tenth of one percent perfection when we start anything , but practice makes perfect, and out of the very crudest material will come a gem, polished by use into a resplendent brightness.”
—Julie Seton, The Science of Success, 1914
After we've started to make energetic space and built the structures for prosperity to flood in, Napoleon Hill had an intuitive hit in 1937 that even the most desire-driven among us will be separated from their “riches” due to procrastination. We often get in our own way to receive all that we want because the resistance to start/do/continue feels more seductive than the whatever-it-is residing on THE OTHER SIDE of doing the thing. So, Hill notes that the Seventh Principle of Success is being decisive, clear, and action-oriented. To just, start.
There is a beloved sutra or “sacred thread” aphorism, that states: when the pressure is on, START, and the pressure will be off. Simple, but life-changing in practice. How many of us have things on our to-do list that we push, push, push, until they feel so daunting that even seeing them written down can elicit this visceral swirl of daunting energy? It's worth asking ourselves if the anxiety we have built up, is related to doing the thing...or perhaps it's actually anxiety from not doing it. Avoiding what we know intuitively will uplevel us—whether it's figuring out our taxes as an independent contractor, carving space to meditate in the morning, sending that honest text to someone to set boundaries—can block us from moving forward and stifle hard-won momentum toward our ultimate goals, because we're stuck playing it small and not acting from a place of personal power. And we can give ourselves every reason in the book: not enough time, money, energy, etc. etc. on why we haven't done the thing. But in the end, facing what we're addicted to avoiding, will in fact cultivate more energy...energy we need to see our desires come to fruition.
In this newsletter, we offer some potent ideas on how to disentangle ourselves from the grip of procrastination and the resistance to start on our audacious goals. Because sprouting ideas is common, but transmuting desires into action is where the real magic happens.
Image: Dana Lixenberg, Sean Combs (Puff Daddy), 1995
CREATING THE ULTIMATE LIST
While this principle may not be the most fun, the lesson is all about learning how to push through resistance that arises as we move from where we are to where we want to be.Interestingly enough, sometimes the resistance we have to the things we are putting off—big or small—don't appear to directly have anything to do with the big, audacious dreams we have. However, they are inadvertently leaking the energy we have to build the thing we want…and we might not even realize it. To combat this, take some time to make a scary list, one that calls us out on our bullshit. We call this a procrastination list.
This is a practice that blows us away again and again, seeing clearly on paper all the items we could easily square away if we just did them rather than putting them off until some distant “tomorrow”, allowing unnecessary anxiety to build inside instead.
However mundane or important these things may be, get them all off your chest. If you've been putting something off in any capacity, jot it down. Give yourself a reasonable deadline to complete these items. And give yourself an easy one to do first, and relish in the satisfaction of crossing it off. Putting off cleaning the house? Paying a bill that's been sitting around for weeks? Making that dentist appointment it's definitely time for? Finally creating that business plan?
Go through the items, remembering another helpful saying: done is better than perfect. Say it to yourself a few times to let it sink in. Our need for perfection is another at-the-ready roadblock that hinders us from what we need to do, because there's always the chance we could wait and make it better. But just as New Thought movement writer, Julie Seton, penned in 1914, “The world is full of those who are 'going to do it' and so it is full of failures.” The failure comes from the NOT doing it, rather than doing it “wrong”. After you've completed the thing that was bubbling up anxiety, it might even be worth journaling about your emotions once it's finished and take notice how much space and freedom has been created from getting things done. Creating this practice for ourselves starts to build the self-trust muscle and fosters self-sovereignty.
“The majority of people who fail to [create prosperity] sufficient for their needs, are, generally, easily influenced by the 'opinions' of others. … If you are influenced by 'opinions' when you reach decisions, you will not succeed in any undertaking, much less in that of transmuting your own desire”
— Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, 1937
Image: photographed by Nick Knight for French Vogue
As we begin to move forward and take steps towards our goals and dreams, it's important to move swiftly and also quietly, for when we start to ask too much advice, we open the door for others opinions to get in our way. When we constantly ask our friends and family for their opinion on a situation in our lives, we are only seeking validation for the answer we want to hear. Meaning, we already know what the answer is, yet we're just looking for someone to validate us so we can feel powerful. What if we could learn to cut the cords of external validation and choose to move with confidence instead? This pattern of asking for advice strips us of our personal power and also creates space for others to project their opinions and beliefs onto us, which may have absolutely nothing to do with us at all.
As a practice for building personal power and confidence, aim to hold off asking for advice—save for your therapist, mentor, or sacred Master Mind Group—for 2 weeks and see what unfolds. It may feel uncomfortable at first but this why we practice it…soon enough it will be second nature to trust our own opinions over everyone else's.
If you're still hesitant about trusting your intuition on the clear next steps, a powerful practice while you replace the habit of asking advice is to ask yourself: What Would XYZ Do? Whether it's Venus, Rihanna, or your great-grandmother… think of the figures, both mythological or real, that you aspire to be. What would they do? The beauty is your answer could help you embody the traits that you most admire in them, while recognizing that you innately have these traits already otherwise you wouldn't even think of what they would hypothetically do. Because you're not actually asking them, you are in a roundabout way receiving your own advice, but from a higher source. Call upon this council whenever you like, and witness the shift as you act from a place of knowing rather than waiting on others' opinions.
“Are you ready for the content of your vortex?” asks Esther Hicks on an “Infinite Intelligence” podcast episode, which is all about embracing the “exuberance in self-discovery of your own empowerment” and enjoying the process of receiving everything you desire, even as you fall and try again.