Why You Don’t Follow Through

As a high-achieving woman, it can be perplexing when you have no problem taking action in certain areas of your life (e.g., work tasks), but you may struggle with procrastination in other areas. I know how it is…

You make plans and set goals. But for some reason, you just don’t follow through on all those plans.

It seems like you never have enough time because you’re grinding with work and all the other responsibilities that fill your daily life.

But the truth is, if there is a goal that you haven’t followed through on, you are not lazy and time likely isn’t the whole issue. You’re probably not following through because:

You’re avoiding negative feelings.

You aren’t avoiding starting the business, writing the book, sending emails, or doing laundry. You’re avoiding the feelings that you think you will have if you actually do those things. You don’t want to feel awkward, bored, nervous, scared, uncertain, inadequate, vulnerable, exposed, etc.

If you are moving through your daily life and there is a goal on your mind that you want to accomplish, and you’ve been wanting to do that thing for weeks, months, or even years and you have not followed through, you are probably avoiding negative feelings. In other words, you aren’t avoiding starting the business, writing the book, or doing laundry. You just don’t want to feel bored, awkward, nervous, scared, uncertain, etc.  

You’re leaning into confusion and making excuses instead of moving toward clarity.

If you’re not following through on your plans, goals, and dreams, you may be leaning into confusion.

I find this is often true with those dreams that scare us—you’re probably leaning into confusion instead of moving toward clarity.

This is often true with those dreams that scare us. “I don’t have time” or “I can’t do it because I don’t have XYZ yet” are excuses that allow us to stay stuck on a problem without seeking a solution.

You’re stuck in a cycle of self-doubt and self-sabotage.

When we continuously set plans and then we don’t follow through on those plans, we may begin to view ourselves like that flaky friend who we can’t depend on.

You may be in the habit of planning and not following through. Once we’re stuck in this cycle, we have to intervene, or we’ll stay stuck for weeks, months, or maybe even years.

Thank you for reading! If you found this post helpful, grab a free copy of these journal prompts for those times when you’re feeling unmotivated. These journal prompts will help you get to the root of your procrastination and fear.