Yep, everyone’s got issues and money is one of those things that will always set them off. It’s a button-pusher for sure. Maybe even the button-pusher. And to make it even more complicated, those issues aren’t just about money itself …

A couple of weeks ago my eighth year anniversary of quitting both sugar and caffeine rolled around. It’s not something I celebrate exactly — since, you know, I don’t eat cake or anything, but I do always pause and remember how bleeping hard it was.

When people talk to me about their habits, and especially about the big, frustrating “why am I not doing the thing already” procrastination cycle, there’s one word that invariably comes up:

Lazy.

I want you to know that it took me over a year to get around to reading Michael Port’s book “Book Yourself Solid”. Yes, I’m a procrastination expert, and yes, and it took me a year to read a book I actually wanted to read. It actually wasn’t about being in avoidance. It was more about consciously working through my layers of discomfort so I could get to the point where it wouldn’t be interfering with my interaction with the book. There was just a lot to work through.

Something I love about leading workshops on procrastination (how NOT to do it, not HOW to do it) is the reminder that (a) there is just no end to all the wild things we can come up with to avoid DOING THE THING, and (b) despite all of our own little tricks, we’re really all in the same big avoidance boat.

When you know what to do but don’t want to do it, chances are good that something deceptively simple is getting in the way — a word.

Ask a stupid question, get a wrong answer. I know, I know. “There are no stupid questions”. And yet, it turns out you and I are probably asking questions every day that are getting us into trouble.

I love New Year’s. Not the whole party thing of course, which is not at all my cup of tea. My cup of tea is a hot, steaming … well, cup of tea. Preferably with yerba buena leaves floating in it. I invariably fall asleep well before midnight. And five years as a bartender cured me of ever wanting to imbibe an alcoholic beverage. Or to even leave the house, for that matter.

As the new year approaches and resolutions start piling up, it’s easy and tempting to slide into “self-mastery mode”. You’re determined to do it right this time and beat your bad habits to a pulp — and that’s where all the problems start. The thing is, self-mastery is just not the smart way to do things.

There is no stress like the stress of having to be nice to people you don’t actually feel like being nice to. Welcome to the holiday season.