The Three Powerful P’s

There are three powerful 'P's that affect how your life unfolds: Procrastination, Persistence, and Perseverance. These are concepts we all face in our journey toward personal and professional success, and how you choose to navigate them impacts everything in your life. In today’s episode of Your Personal Power Pod, we talk about the three P’s and how to work with them so you can be successful in all you do.

We want to hear from you, whether it’s your stories about how self-esteem and personal power affect your life, or topics you’d like us to address in future episodes. 

We’d love for you to review our podcast. Do this on your streaming service or visit www.yourpersonalpowerpod.com , click Contact and drop us an email. 

You can also find us on Instagram and YouTube at Your Personal Power Pod.

Also, if you’d like to make changes in your personal or business life, spending time with a coach can make all the difference.  Sandy is offering a free consultation, so contact her at sandy@insidejobscoach.com and put COACHING in the subject line to schedule a free call.

Thank you for listening to Your Personal Power Pod.  We look forward to hearing from you.

And, until next time, find your power and change your life!

Transcript

[00:00:00] Shannon: Welcome to your personal power pod, a podcast about aligning yourself with the life you want. And here are your hosts, Sandy Abel and Shannon Young.

[00:00:23] Sandy: I'm excited about today because we're looking at some things that I deal with in my life. Oh! 

[00:00:30] Shannon: That's great. We don't talk about the challenges going on in your world very often because it doesn't seem like you have many. 

[00:00:37] Sandy: I have plenty. 

[00:00:40] Shannon: Well, I am on board for this. Not that I want you to be struggling, but it's interesting to learn a little bit more about the things that you deal with.

[00:00:47] Sandy: Today we're looking at the three powerful Ps. The first one is procrastination, and that's the one that I deal with in some ways. The other two are persistence and perseverance, and those I think I've [00:01:00] got handled. When I commit to something, I persist and I persevere. 

[00:01:04] Shannon: Yes. 

[00:01:04] Sandy: These are concepts that we all face.

[00:01:07] Sandy: In our journey towards personal and professional success, for all of us, it's how you choose to navigate them that impacts how everything in your life unfolds. 

[00:01:16] Shannon: Yeah, and if you don't have these three under control, you're probably not moving very quickly towards your goals. 

[00:01:21] Sandy: Exactly. You're just wallowing in whatever.

[00:01:24] Sandy: Rudderless. For a while, that's just fine. You got to take time and just sit and be mellow and enjoy the moment and all that. But if you do that for months or years, you kind of become a slug and your brain dies and you just 

[00:01:37] Shannon: stagnate. Yes. 

[00:01:38] Sandy: And you may not be making enough money to survive it. You know, it can be bad if you, if you procrastinate too long, it could be a problem.

[00:01:48] Sandy: Let's start by looking at procrastination. 

[00:01:50] Shannon: Jump right in. 

[00:01:51] Sandy: That's when you know there's something you need to do, but somehow you just always find a way to put it off. Yeah. And it's something everybody struggles [00:02:00] with at some point. Sometimes it's because you get distracted or it's the bottom of your to do list.

[00:02:05] Sandy: It's not really that important. Or it might be fear or failure or just plain laziness. 

[00:02:11] Shannon: I find this at work and sometimes I don't know if it's procrastination or if I just need to let something percolate so that I know how to move forward with it. Often when it comes to responding to challenging situations or difficult emails, I will put it off.

[00:02:26] Shannon: And then I noticed that the longer I put it off, the heavier it seems to feel, but it's about avoiding discomfort, uncertainty, not quite knowing how to move forward. So I just. Don't. 

[00:02:38] Sandy: Exactly. Or sometimes people just are afraid that they don't believe they can do it perfectly, so they don't want to do it at all, which as I have often said, there's no such thing as perfect.

[00:02:48] Shannon: Right. 

[00:02:48] Sandy: Just do it. And sometimes people are afraid of success, which we've talked about before, too. It's like, Oh, well, if I do this and I succeed, then I have to do that next thing. And then I have [00:03:00] to do that next thing. Maybe I don't want to go that route. I'm just going to procrastinate for a while and give it some thought.

[00:03:05] Shannon: Right. I've been in this situation and I've had friends in this situation who really, really want something. And then they get it, a job opportunity, or they were wanting to be part of something and then they get invited to it. And then all of a sudden they feel like, Oh my gosh, things are moving too fast.

[00:03:21] Sandy: Right. And did I really want this? I didn't realize it involves so much in that I would have to do all these other things. 

[00:03:26] Shannon: Right. 

[00:03:26] Sandy: Yeah. And sometimes it's just a lack of motivation. Or feeling overwhelmed, you know? Been there. That's, yeah, that's my thing is overwhelmed. I procrastinate a lot about cleaning things out.

[00:03:37] Shannon: Yes. 

[00:03:38] Sandy: Closets, garages, storage units. It's just kind of overwhelming. If it's not right in my face and I can pretend it's not there, I procrastinate all over the place on that one. 

[00:03:50] Shannon: Well, and I know that feeling that it's just too big of a project and you don't know how to start. It's totally overwhelming. Or because, like, especially with cleaning things out.

[00:03:58] Shannon: There's emotion [00:04:00] attached to that, and if you're not prepared to handle grief or sadness or even just memories, it can be really hard to start. 

[00:04:07] Sandy: Excellent point. Cleaning things out is, it's hard. 

[00:04:10] Shannon: It's sometimes not fun. It's a whole lot of effort, and you just don't know if you have the bandwidth to deal with everything it's going to bring up.

[00:04:17] Sandy: Yeah, and research has actually shown that often procrastination is an emotional management problem rather than a time management problem. 

[00:04:24] Shannon: Oh, that somehow makes it worse. 

[00:04:29] Sandy: Well, it's just, you're emotionally too involved, like, especially with cleaning out things that belong to somebody you loved or whatever, and they're gone.

[00:04:37] Sandy: And it's like, Oh my gosh, what am I going to do with this thing that I don't need and I don't use? And it was important to them. Oh, it's so hard. So you just don't, you just let it sit there for a while. 

[00:04:47] Shannon: Years, years, decades. So how do we stop procrastinating? Cause it can build on itself. The more you procrastinate, the easier it is to procrastinate.

[00:04:57] Sandy: That is very true. After a while, you don't even think about [00:05:00] it. 

[00:05:00] Shannon: Right. 

[00:05:00] Sandy: Unless there's something that actually has to happen and then it becomes in your face and you need to deal with it. Right. First of all, you acknowledge that you're avoiding something. Look at what's stopping you. Why are you avoiding this?

[00:05:12] Sandy: And address that. 

[00:05:13] Shannon: And then I think it's really important to break the task down into smaller, manageable, bite sized tasks, set clear, realistic goals, assign time limits, and then move forward with the most important first. Because if you just say, I'm gonna tackle this, in my case, back bedroom today, and clean it out and be done, well then, I really don't want to begin.

[00:05:37] Shannon: It's too big. But if I say every day I'm going to spend half an hour going through this corner, this corner, this corner, this portion, this closet, then before you know it, it's done and it didn't hurt too much. 

[00:05:48] Sandy: Exactly. And you're not overwhelmed. But if you say, I'm going to do the whole thing today and be done by dinner time, you're just going to procrastinate and find something else you need to go to.

[00:05:57] Shannon: Yeah. All of a sudden, everything else you've been putting off looks really [00:06:00] fun. Exactly. 

[00:06:03] Sandy: So it's good to set deadlines. Like you said, say, okay, I'm going to do it every day for half an hour. That's a good deadline. And at the end of every half hour, every day, I will be proud of myself. And it's good to write a checklist too.

[00:06:15] Sandy: If you write out what you're going to do. First, I'm going to clean the South corner and I'm going to clean the North corner and just get specific. It makes it more manageable. 

[00:06:24] Shannon: Oh, I think that makes it harder. Really? Because sometimes it helps not to know how big the task is. So if I'm writing it out, then I'm confronted by how much there is to do.

[00:06:37] Sandy: A checklist will help you keep track. 

[00:06:38] Shannon: Yes. You can play mental games with yourself, too. I love to start a project that has multiple steps and do a few of those steps and then write a checklist so that I can start off by crossing off the first three or four things on the list. That's great! I've already made progress.

[00:06:56] Sandy: Yes. I like that. That is good. And it's also important [00:07:00] to know when you're really on and when you're not and tackle the hardest tasks at your peak times. Yes. I know about myself that my brain works better in the morning and my body works better in the afternoon. So if I have to write something or have a meeting.

[00:07:14] Sandy: I do it in the morning and then in the afternoon I go for a walk or clean the house or do those things that do not require my brain to be on top functioning and you have to know yourself well enough to figure out when are your peak times and when are you not so on. 

[00:07:29] Shannon: There is a school of thought that says, do the hard ones first.

[00:07:34] Shannon: But I'm of the school of thought that if you have a long list of things, It can be really hard to start with the hard ones. Sometimes it's easier to do all the easy ones first and clean the list out. You're like, Oh, I can see the end from here. Okay. Now the hard ones aren't so hard. 

[00:07:49] Sandy: I agree with that.

[00:07:50] Sandy: Yeah. Some people like to jump in and just tackle the big one, but that takes longer usually and is more effort. It's nicer to just go in and do the little ones. And [00:08:00] you'll see progress. And then you'll be motivated to eventually tackle the larger one. 

[00:08:04] Shannon: It's like paying off your credit card. Yes. Credit cards.

[00:08:06] Shannon: Multiple. Right. They tell you to pay off the ones with the smallest balance first. Right. Throw everything you have at the little stuff first and get it out of the way. 

[00:08:14] Sandy: And then you will have more to take care of the big ones. But if you're just chipping away at the big ones and the little ones are still there niggling at you, you don't feel like you're getting anywhere.

[00:08:23] Shannon: Yeah. 

[00:08:23] Sandy: And then reward yourself after you complete a task. 

[00:08:26] Shannon: Reward yourself for starting. Yeah, 

[00:08:28] Sandy: exactly. And then focus on your progress and be proud of yourself for what you're doing. 

[00:08:33] Shannon: Minimize distractions. That's a big one. We all think that we can multitask and we're all really bad at it. And you'll make a whole lot more progress quicker if you just focus on what you're doing.

[00:08:45] Sandy: Yeah. And like you said, give yourself a half hour. And do it and just be totally focused on that and then go do something else. That's fine. Sometimes it helps to find an accountability partner who can support you and help you stick to your deadlines and somebody you trust and that [00:09:00] respects you and, and who's going to be honest with you and you let them know how you're doing.

[00:09:04] Sandy: I have this task I want to get done and this is what I'm going to do. And I'm going to let you know, every time I finish something important, they check in and support you. That's what coaches do when you're working with a coach, a coach is in your corner. supports you 100 percent and gives you guidance and cheers you on as you move through whatever it is you want to accomplish.

[00:09:24] Shannon: Practice being present. Increase your awareness. Be in the moment. It's really easy to put your focus somewhere else while you're doing something that you don't really want to be doing. It's also really easy to make mistakes doing that. So just be in the moment, which I know is kind of a buzzword these days, being present, but it's important.

[00:09:42] Sandy: Absolutely. And be gentle with yourself. If you're actually doing it, and if you say, I'm going to do a half hour and you do 20 minutes, don't beat yourself up. Say, okay, I did 20 minutes and I got this much done. And tomorrow I'm going to do a half hour. So appreciate yourself. 

[00:09:57] Shannon: We joke at work. It's not like I have a hard [00:10:00] job, but sometimes it's a stressful 

[00:10:02] Sandy: job.

[00:10:02] Shannon: We joke a lot about how we can do hard things. 

[00:10:06] Sandy: Yes, you can. 

[00:10:07] Shannon: But we do remind each other of that because Even though we know we can, sometimes you just are confronted with one that you're like, I don't have it in me to deal with this today, but you have to deal with this today. So we clap each other on the back and say, we can do hard things.

[00:10:22] Shannon: And it's funny, but it's true. And it is a reminder that we've done this before. We can do it again, buckle down and do it. And you'll feel really good afterwards. 

[00:10:30] Sandy: And isn't it nice you have a team, you're all there for each other. 

[00:10:33] Shannon: Yes. Having support is really important. 

[00:10:35] Sandy: It is a big help. 

[00:10:36] Shannon: Okay. So that brings us to persistence, which is once you start, keep going.

[00:10:41] Shannon: Yeah. 

[00:10:42] Sandy: Once you've identified your procrastination and pushed through it, then you keep going and persistence is about showing up even when things are tough or when progress feels slow. 

[00:10:51] Shannon: Another word for this is commitment. 

[00:10:53] Sandy: Yes. Or consistence. 

[00:10:55] Shannon: Yeah, especially when we start after the first of the year, New Year's resolutions, we're [00:11:00] all excited about starting.

[00:11:01] Shannon: And then we start doing whatever it is we're doing, watching what we eat, running, paying more attention to our finances, super fun. And we're super jazzed. And it feels like, yes, I'm doing it. And then it's not fun anymore. 

[00:11:12] Sandy: Yeah. The excitement of doing the new thing is fading. What's left is the grind. And this is where persistence comes in, because that's waking up and doing the work, even if you don't feel like it.

[00:11:24] Shannon: Nike's slogan. 

[00:11:25] Sandy: Yes. Just do it. And that is such a good, simple, but powerful way to look at things. 

[00:11:31] Shannon: Yeah. I read something somewhere where the, I don't even remember who said it or what it was in relation to, but it was like, feel the pain and do it anyway. Oh yeah. You don't have to love it. To do it. You can hate it every minute if you want to, but you can still do it.

[00:11:46] Sandy: If you want the result. 

[00:11:47] Shannon: Yeah. You don't have to, you can choose to not hate it, but you can also hate every second of it and still do it. 

[00:11:52] Sandy: That's kind of like exercise for me. I love walking, but I am not an exercise [00:12:00] person where you lift weights or run. No, uh uh. 

[00:12:04] Shannon: But you do. 

[00:12:04] Sandy: But I do it every morning. I exercise because I know that I'm going to like the end result, which is that my body is happier.

[00:12:12] Shannon: Yeah. You focus on what it's going to do for you having it done. 

[00:12:15] Sandy: Exactly. If things don't work right, it's getting back up and doing it again anyway. You don't focus on a failure. You focus on what you're going to gain when you do it. That's persistence, continuing to move ahead even when it's tough. 

[00:12:28] Shannon: And it's being flexible.

[00:12:29] Shannon: There are days like today, I'm assuming you didn't walk. Before we started podcasting 

[00:12:34] Sandy: did not there are days when I don't have time 

[00:12:36] Shannon: or days when your schedule is such that it doesn't allow for you to go at your regular time and you are prepared to be flexible with that. You know that it's important to you to make time to exercise and you are able to work it into a varying schedule.

[00:12:49] Sandy: Yeah. Flexibility is huge. A huge part of persistence is I don't have time to walk today, but I'm definitely going to make time tomorrow. Keep going in spite of whatever gets in the [00:13:00] way. That is persistence. 

[00:13:01] Shannon: Yeah. And then continuing to do that over the long haul, that's where perseverance comes in. 

[00:13:06] Sandy: Exactly.

[00:13:07] Sandy: Persistence is the day to day showing up. Perseverance is the long term mindset. It's about seeing the bigger picture and having the patience to endure through setbacks. It's about 

[00:13:18] Shannon: That's such a good word. 

[00:13:19] Sandy: Knowing that failure and obstacles are part of the process, but continuing to push forward anyway.

[00:13:24] Shannon: It requires resilience. It requires a certain frame of mind. I heard an interview with Dolly Parton from many, many, many, many moons ago. And she said, I'm very secure in who I am. I know where my talents are. I know what I'm good at. I don't fail. Even if I'm losing, I'm winning because I'm gaining experience.

[00:13:43] Shannon: It is not a problem for me to fail in a project and that is a perseverance mindset. She's like, I'm just going to keep going because I know I'm going to get where I want to be. Things may not go the way I planned for them to be, but I'm okay with that. 

[00:13:57] Sandy: She is so amazing in so many ways. She is [00:14:00] incredible.

[00:14:00] Sandy: She's absolutely right. That is perseverance. You just keep on keeping on. And if you combine persistence and perseverance, you develop mental toughness needed to overcome any challenge. 

[00:14:12] Shannon: That sounds lovely. 

[00:14:15] Sandy: Mental toughness? You like mental toughness? 

[00:14:18] Shannon: I do. We all face rejections and failures and frustrations, and if you choose to be to allow them to take all your focus, then you're never going to get where you want to go.

[00:14:28] Shannon: It's about deciding that, yep, those things are going to come, but I don't have to look at them and I don't have to let them distract me. 

[00:14:34] Sandy: Or define me. 

[00:14:35] Shannon: Or define me. 

[00:14:36] Sandy: So many people let those things define who they are and they just give up. And they're not being perseverant. They're not persisting. They're just saying, oh, well, it didn't work those first two times, so it'll never work.

[00:14:46] Sandy: Third time's the charm, you know? Come on. 

[00:14:49] Shannon: Right. It's about understanding that when things go perfectly, there's no growth there. 

[00:14:55] Sandy: That's true. And it reminds you that you're capable of overcoming any [00:15:00] hurdle if you claim your personal power and stay committed and are perseverant. 

[00:15:05] Shannon: That word, I swear, that extra R that we pronounce that is not actually in the word drives me nuts.

[00:15:13] Sandy: Now we're doing spelling. 

[00:15:15] Shannon: Now we're doing spelling. Just a pet peeve. What is the main difference between persistence and perseverance? 

[00:15:22] Sandy: Well, perseverance is about continuing a commitment. through action. Persistence is the ability to keep going with a behavior or to reach a goal, even when it's difficult or takes a long time.

[00:15:33] Sandy: Persistent people are often motivated by goals and aren't deterred by failures and believe in the growth mindset. Perseverance is a skill that helps you stay motivated and keep working really hard, even when things get really tough. It's about having the grit to hang in there no matter what, like Dolly Parton.

[00:15:50] Sandy: And that's important for your future success because it helps you make progress when obstacles and step backs get in your way. So the bottom line is [00:16:00] procrastination, persistence, and perseverance are all part of the journey to achieving your goals. Overcoming procrastination takes courage and self awareness.

[00:16:08] Sandy: While persistence and perseverance require grit and long term commitment, when you use these tools, you will move closer every day to successfully achieving your goals. Remember, progress over perfection, and you're capable of more than you know. That's 

[00:16:23] Shannon: perfect! Beautiful. Thank you for sharing some of your personal struggle with us today.

[00:16:28] Sandy: And thank you, Shan. You often do that, and I sure appreciate it. And we would love to hear from our listeners about what their struggles are. 

[00:16:35] Shannon: Yeah, please. We love to hear from you. Tell us your stories about self esteem and personal power and how they affect your life and how you're finding your personal power and claiming it.

[00:16:44] Shannon: We also love it when you share podcast topics with us because then we know we're talking Talking about things you actually care about, which is great. If you want to review our podcast, you can do that wherever you stream or just visit yourpersonalpowerpod. com. Click contact and drop us an email. You can talk to us directly.

[00:16:59] Shannon: We will [00:17:00] respond. You can also visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel. And if you want to learn about coaching, if you need someone to help hold you accountable and help figure out how to get to the goals that you've set for yourself, contact Sandy at sandyinsidejobscoach. com. As always, we look forward to hearing from you and until next time, find your power.

[00:17:18] Shannon: And change your life.