The #1 habit that keeps you stuck in life
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The JD Letter February 15, 2025 "I'll do it tomorrow" has probably killed more dreams than anything else. When you say it, you enter an overwhelm and procrastination cycle that is hard to get out of. You start to:
Until you explode—because you avoided your problems so much that now you experience panic, guilt, shame, and sleepless nights. If you've ever reached that point, chances are you're stuck in this loop: Avoid → Stress → Rush → Burnout → Repeat And it’s destroying your confidence. Your confidence in your ability to handle your own life and solve your own problems. Your confidence in feeling capable. Instead, all you're doing is feeling like you're falling behind. You avoid conversations with your partner and your friends and that makes you sink deeper into the avoidance loop. If you relate to any of this, here's a story I want to share with you today: Parable of the Drowning ShipA merchant owned a ship that had a small leak. The repair would cost him a month's profit. "I'll fix it next quarter," he decided, taking on more cargo instead. The leak grew. Now repairs would cost six months' profit. "I'll fix it next year," he reasoned, taking even more cargo to make up for the lost speed. By the year's end, the ship could barely stay afloat. Repairs would cost everything he had. "I can't afford to stop now," he thought, mortgaging his home to add yet more cargo. The ship sank. Standing on the shore, a wise trader told him: "The best time to fix a problem is when you first realize it's bad. The second best time is now." So how do we stop avoiding our problems?Everyone has avoided a problem they needed to solve. Everyone has put off working out and doctor visits. But when you're in the wrong train, the best thing you can do is to get off at the nearest station. Because the longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive your return ticket will be. If you want to stop avoiding your problems do this (I did this journaling exercise last week):
Be brutally honest. No filters. Pick the main ONE. 3. “What’s the smallest action I can take in the next 24 hours to face this problem?” Make it so small you’d feel stupid NOT doing it. This kills the overwhelm. 4. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Do it immediately. Don’t wait. Don’t overthink. Take that tiny action as soon as you finish this step. Even if your hands are sweaty. Even if you feel like throwing up. Action kills fear. Always. For all of you reading this and feeling frustrated because this is easier said than done, let me ask you this: What has avoiding cost you so far? How many sleepless nights? How many anxious days? How many missed opportunities? If avoiding things is supposed to keep you safe, why does it make you feel so weak? Avoidance is not protecting you. It's slowly breaking you. You have the ability to get off the train at the next stop. When you step out of it, here's something you may realize: Most of what you’re avoiding isn’t life-threatening. The real danger is the person you become when you avoid. Take the smallest step today. Get off the train. Chat next week, Jess Inspire, Empower, Transform. P.S Here's one of the latest threads I wrote for my client on X: It led to:
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