You’re 23. I will assume you have what it takes to do the following.

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I'm 23 and my life is ruined by procrastinating and being in the comfort zone. How do I stop all that and improve myself?

You’re 23. I will assume you have what it takes to do the following. Hike up your sleeves. Grab a shovel (figuratively speaking, of course). And get ready to do some digging inside that wonderful brain of yours.

Why?

Because for any kind of change to happen, you will need to find and then take a closer look at your fears.

Fear that if you venture out of what feels comfortable, bad things can happen. Horrible things. Things you won’t know how to deal with. Failures. Not living up to your expectations, or the expectations of people close to you — parents, bosses, teachers, neighbors, friends.

How do you deal with the fear associated with procrastination, and what are the steps for overcoming it? Here are five things you can do.

#1. Admit to yourself that you feel fear.

We as humans all feel it, and that’s how we are wired. Fear has protected us and helped us survive. It has kept us on our toes, always on the lookout for danger and enemies and natural disasters, so that we can escape when we need to. And we often still feel that need to escape, even though we have come a long way from what our ancestors had to deal with every single day. But still, it’s best to be aware of the feeling.

Question to ask yourself:

• What am I fearful about? Give the fear a name. Say it out loud.

#2. Resist getting emotional about it.

Sometimes it’s that voice that you hear saying, I can’t do this, it’s not for me, I’m going to give up! If it is, just chalk it up to your fixed mindset talking. What’s a fixed mindset? It’s your belief that your personality, skill set, and strengths are “fixed” i.e. you have them from birth, and that that’s just how it is. What’s better? Let your growth mindset do the talking. When you adopt a growth mindset, you start believing that you can cultivate strengths and skills through your efforts. The benefit? The things you tell yourself don’t sound awful, and you give yourself the space to learn something new.

Question to ask yourself:

• Do I say something is difficult because I’ve always told myself similar things are difficult, and how would I change this if I could start all over again?

#3. Zoom out of the current situation.

Whatever you’re working on, take a step back from your current situation and connect with the initial reason you started doing it. This will remind you that your actions are directly linked to your personal or professional goals. Maybe you started working on acquiring a new skill such as playing an instrument to fulfill a lifelong dream. Or, you are studying for exams so that you can get a degree that will open doors for you to embark on an exciting career and gain financial independence. Or maybe you’re looking for a job that is a better fit for your skill set and your career path than the last one you had.

Question to ask yourself:

• Why is this challenge so important to me? What is at the core? What will I gain from solving it? What will this mean to my life in the long run?

#4. Anticipate obstacles and prepare for them.

When we are faced with an obstacle, we tend to stop what we’re doing and start reacting. It’s not fair! It’s impossible to fix this! But complaining won’t change a thing. What will make a difference is getting proactive. First, start anticipating that there will be obstacles you will encounter on your path. If you prepare yourself psychologically for them, they won’t feel so devastating when they actually do happen. Second, use the opportunity to learn something new, to take a different approach to the problem, to think it through, and to try something different that can yield better results.

Question to ask yourself:

• What are 3 things I can do when I am faced with an obstacle? Which solutions can I brainstorm so that I have them ready in case I need them?

#5. Stop thinking and start doing.

By now you’ve prepared yourself for what you need to do to get out of your comfort zone. There comes a time, however, when we should stop thinking and analyzing and move on to the next step. It’s time to take action to change the status quo. Think of this situation as an experiment. You’ll try something new. You’ll see what happens next. You’ll learn something about yourself and what you’re capable. You’ll adapt to the situation.

Question to ask yourself:

• What is the first step I can take to move forward? Do I need to study one topic to understand it better? Do I need to practice a skill in order to master it? Do I need to find a mentor who can offer advice and provide guidance?

📖 If you want to get proactive about eliminating procrastination from your life, I created a growth mindset workbook which is part of a new series of workbooks I'll be publishing in 2021. This workbook is called Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. It is a printable, 24-page workbook divided into 5 chapters. Each chapter includes one step to make so that you can get out of your comfort zone, followed by question prompts and a workbook section for writing down your answers.