There are a lot of killers to productivity. Netflix (let’s be honest Netflix's original content is KILLING IT right now and it’s hard to walk away after just one episode of something as awesome as Daredevil), cat videos on the internet, texting, and needing to make coffee five times a day to function (ok maybe I exaggerated on the amount of coffee I drink but you get the idea) are some of the top killers of productivity; but among the top killer of productivity would be the one thing that can stop us all—fear of failing. According to the research of the Procrastination Research Group of Carleton University (if you haven’t heard of it before, it’s because it’s in Canada my fellow Americans), the more students are afraid of failing, the less likely they are to do their work and study. Fortunately for me, I am not a student, but unfortunately, I at times am afraid of failing. I am afraid of making things that people will not like. I am afraid of not being able to achieve what I am supposed to. Some of the time, these things that we’re afraid of often become treated just like a test—at least I know I do.
The more we put things off, however, means the more that we aren’t getting done. I’m here to say one thing to fear: STUFF IT LIKE A CALZONE.
If you’re afraid of failing, don’t be. You’ll never even know if you’ll fail if you never start. The only way to know what the future holds is try and make steps towards the future and take the future as it comes. I know for me, the first step to overcoming fear is “getting out of bed” (sometimes I mean that figuratively, and sometimes I mean that literally, because I am NOT AT ALL a morning person). By getting out of bed, we put our feet on the ground and get moving, making steps towards our goal.
Once you start taking steps toward your goal, it seems far more achievable and you’re more likely to follow through with it. After we start to make the first step, we need to make more steps. Make sure you go to a place where your surroundings will help you achieve that goal. Need to be creative? Go to a place that helps you feel creative. Need to be undistracted? Go to a place free of distractions. Make your environment a place that will harness productivity. Choose the words you speak to yourself, too. Instead of saying “I AM NEVER GOING TO GET THIS DONE”, say, “I am going to get this done!” Lastly, do the thing you’re procrastinating on in small chunks of time instead of attempting to tackle it all at once. If you want more advice on getting stuff DONE, check THIS ARTICLE FROM PRINCETON out.
In all, get out of bed, make steps towards your goal, look fear dead in the eye, and tell it to stuff it like a calzone. You might be surprised how tasty life can be. Without fear of failing, life will be even better than the best calzone you’ve ever had. (I’m putting this on an inspirational poster so don’t you dare steal that line.)