2. By Patrick Dominguez
Founder and CEO
Inner Coach
www.innercoach.com

3. This presentation is going to show you how you can be your own
Inner Coach.
So that you can coach yourself to:
Release the procrastination and let go of the inner struggle
and resistance…
Achieve your most exciting goals and dreams with greater
ease and inner alignment…
And Have what matters to you most in life.

4. This presentation is designed to give you a
radically different and more effective approach
than much of the conventional advice
you may have seen or tried.

5. My name is Patrick Dominguez, and I’m the founder
and CEO of Inner Coach.
I’ve coached and trained 1,000s of small business
owners over the last 14 years.
In that time, I’ve seen that for entrepreneurs or
solo-preneurs, procrastination is unfortunately an
all too-common reason why they don’t realize
their business dreams.

6. This guide to overcoming procrastination
is based on what’s proven to work
with 100s of clients in 15 different countries
around the world.
Many of these people are normally high achievers
who found themselves painfully procrastinating in
an area of life that matters.

7. First, what is procrastination?
Procrastination is when you're avoiding
taking action towards a goal or dream or
something you really care about.

8. Signs of procrastination
•Avoidance of something you want to do
•Self-sabotage
•Dragging your feet, putting things off
•Being really busy doing other things - “I’m too busy to (do
procrastinated tasks)
At the core, it all amounts to procrastination - we are not taking
steps towards what we want.

9. Examples of procrastination
You want a successful business… but you're not taking
action to put yourself out there.
You want to get fit… but you don't take the action steps
like going to the gym or exercising at home.
You want to get into a new love relationship… but you
put off getting on yourself onto online dating sites.

10. Question for you
What are YOU procrastinating on?
Take a moment right now, and choose at least one thing –
that will massively enhance
your learning from this presentation

11. What is the cost of
procrastination?
1. Being frustrated with yourself. Frequent negative self-talk.
Beating yourself up for not taking the action.
2. The energy drain of the inner struggle (part of you wants
to move forward, part of you is resisting).
3. Ultimately, the biggest issue is that you don't get the
thing that you really want – your dream relationship,
business, or body - and you feel bad about yourself.

12. “Conventional” Solutions
to Procrastination

13. I want to start by sharing some of the conventional
approaches of procrastination provided by many
coaches and experts.
Here’s the thing – they DO work some of the time
with some people.
But they often DON’T work and I will explain why.

14. Conventional approach #1:
Take a baby step
What's the smallest baby step or mini-step you can take
toward the task or goal you’re avoiding?
For example, work out for 1 minute.
The idea behind this is to help you minimize the
resistance, get started and build momentum.

15. Conventional approach #2:
Set micro goals
This is similar to approach #1.
Instead of going for a really daunting goal, like making a
$100,000 in your business this year or writing a book -
which can conjure up a lot of resistance right away….
You set smaller goals that are easier to achieve. Such as
get one client, or write one blog post on your topic.
And then build from there.

16. Conventional approach #3:
Get an accountability partner
The idea here is that you meet with an accountability
partner on a regular basis.
Each time you meet, you check in on whether you took the
actions you committed to taking in your last meeting.
The idea that you leverage the energy of being accountable
and not wanting to disappointment your partner.

17. However… why do conventional
approaches so often NOT work?
I've coached and trained thousands of business owners for 14
years. And I've seen lots of people use these conventional
approaches (and others) and they still get stuck in
procrastination.
Why?
(See if you can guess the answer, before turning to the
next slide)

18. Why conventional approaches to
procrastination often don’t work
MISTAKE #1: These approaches involve
fighting or battling with procrastination.
And when you do that, you end up fighting with an
unconscious part of yourself. (Have you noticed
that?)
And your unconscious often wins, because it’s
highly motivated. (More on that in a minute.)

19. Why conventional approaches to
procrastination often don’t work
MISTAKE #2: Trying to address the symptom,
rather than the cause.
Procrastination is a symptom
If you don’t address the underlying cause, the
procrastination will often persist

20. For example: If you go to a doctor with
“fatigue” as the issue, that’s a symptom.
To resolve the fatigue, you need to find the
cause. Is it a thyroid deficiency? Diabetes?
Without addressing the underlying cause, it’s
hard to make the symptom go away.
(This is why there’s millions of people with
untreated fatigue, gut issues, etc.)

21. For example: I had a client tell told me she was
often late handing in projects at work, because she
was afraid of getting negative feedback from her
boss.
The underlying of cause of the procrastination
was the fear of getting the negative feedback.
(Without addressing the cause, she couldn’t stop
procrastinating)

22. Whenever there’s persistent or
chronic procrastination, there's a
deeper underlying cause.
Procrastination is a sign that you need
to look for the deeper cause, and work
with that.

23. Most of the time, the deeper cause
of procrastination is fear.

24. For example, when I work with business owners, here
are some typical fears they run into when it comes to
taking action in their business:
• fear of rejection
• fear of doing it wrong and looking bad
• fear of being exposed as a fraud or an imposter
• fear of being visible
• fear of being criticized or judged or embarrased

25. Now look for yourself.
Take a look at whatever you're procrastinating on
and notice - is there an underlying fear of
something bad happening?
(Take a moment right now to look inside –
this could be a game changer for you)

26. If you're avoiding doing something, it’s because
there are emotions (usually fear) you
unconsciously want to avoid experiencing.
Procrastination gets triggered when
• There’s a risk of negative emotional experiences
when you take action towards your goal
• Fear you might you fail at achieving the goal
• And sometimes there’s a fear of achieving the
goal. For example, if I lose weight, I might get
unwanted attention

27. How To Resolve The
Underlying Cause of
Procrastination

28. Let's take a look at a method I’ve developed –
called Inner Dialogue – for resolving
procrastination.
I've used it consistently and effectively with
hundreds of clients.
This method helps people to release the underlying
fear behind the procrastination.
And when this happens – there’s no longer an
unconscious compulsion to procrastinate.

29. This method is based on engaging directly with the
emotional energy (usually fear) that is underlying
the procrastination.
This method is about dialoguing with your fear (or
whatever emotional energy is present).
It’s having a conversation with the energy you’re
feeling inside, as if it’s a friend or young child.
And you’ll discover that by being a compassionate
witness to your own fear, this can help the fear to
release.

30. Here's the basic outline that you
can do on your own.
It takes about 5 to 10 minutes (and 5 minutes once you’re
familiar with it).
You can do it on your own, or have friend guide you through it.
(And you can go into it in more depth with my book, which you
can find at www.InnerCoach.com)

31. Inner Dialogue Method

32. Step 1: Find where you feel it in the body
Think of the thing that you are procrastinating on. And as you think
about taking action towards the thing, notice what energy
(emotions and sensations) arises in your body.
And allow yourself to feel the energy of procrastination in your
body.
Do this in a quiet place where there's no distractions.
Then notice where in your body you feel the energy. For example
in your chest, or in your gut.

33. Step 2: Welcome this energy and ask if you
may speak to it.
Simply say to the energy you’re feeling, “Welcome. May I ask
you some questions to get to know you better?”
Engage with this energy with compassion, acceptance and
curiosity.
Be a compassionate observer (without judgement, analysis,
wanting it to go away, or trying to change it).

34. Step 3: Ask this energy, what are you
feeling?
Imagine dialoguing with this energy inside like it's a part of
you, kind of like you'd be conversing with a friend or a child.
Listen from a place of compassion, acceptance and curiosity,
and suspend all desire to judge, analyze, debate or to change
this energy. This is about being a compassionate witness.
Notice that this energy may feel like a small child or a younger
self.

35. Step 4: Acknowledge what the part is
feeling.
Whatever the part told you it’s feeling in Step 3, reply with “I
can see that you’re feeling ____ right now”.
For example: “I can see that you're feeling fear right now."

36. Repeat Step 4 and 5 a few times.
Take your time, getting to know what this part of you is
feeling and letting it know that you see what it's feeling.
Letting know it’s ok to feel that way, from a
compassionate place.

37. Step 5: Find out what this part is wanting or
needing right now.
Notice that this energy may feel like an inner child or
younger part of you.
Ask this part “What do you want or need right now?”
If it feels right, do what you can help this younger part of
you what it needs.
For example, it may want a hug, it may want to play, or it
may want to have time on its own.

38. Step 6: Completion
Thank the part for sharing itself with you.
Let the part know you care for it, you’re here for
it, and you have it’s back.

39. Why this method works
• Instead of fighting the fear (or other emotions) you’re
feeling inside, you’re befriending it
• There’s a part of you that’s been suppressed… and
when it has a chance to be seen, heard, loved and
supported… you form a new, empowering, supportive
relationship with the part of you that’s been driving the
procrastination
• This part of you has been trying to keep you safe,
because it’s a afraid of what might happen. You get to
befriend this part, help it get its needs met… and you
become the protective adult in the relationship.

40. The benefits of doing this
process
• Greater inner peace
• Decreasing the fear or other emotions that come up
underneath your procrastination
• And ultimately, you can move toward your goals and
dreams with more inner alignment – and less struggle
with parts of you that are resisting

41. Give this process a try and watch how
quickly your procrastination can shift when
you engage with the procrastination energy,
rather than fighting it.
For more transformational tools, training
and coaching, visit our Inner Coach website
www.innercoach.com