Why don’t I do that?

What’s on the top of your, “Why don’t I do that?” list?  You know you have one. That list of things that if you could just be more consistent in their execution, you would see positive results and relish the benefits. Yet, for some reason, you struggle to do it.

A few obvious examples that are on many people’s list include exercise and eating right. But, since this is the Work Should Be Fun! blog, let’s focus on work tasks.

Here’s the item that has long held the top spot on my list, far exceeding all others: Cold calling. It’s not that I don’t enjoy talking with new people – I do. It’s not that I have any doubts about the product I’m selling – I don’t. The problem boils down to one thing. I don’t want to be “that guy.”  Having been a decision-maker in the corporate world, I was often on the receiving end of relentless cold calls. Out of every 100 calls, only 1 or 2 were of any interest. The rest were pure annoyances. I really don’t want to be “that guy.”

It has taken a lot of soul searching to uncover this underlying reason for my reluctance. Now that I understand it, I can take steps to address it. I can work to do this task in a way that will reduce the likelihood of being “that guy.”

But, first, I needed to understand the core issue causing my reluctance.

What is at the top of your list? More importantly, why? What is it about the task that is holding you back? What can you do about it? How can you approach the task differently so that your resistance is reduced?

Good luck in your quest. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have phone calls to make.