Summary

Christina Piccoli outlines a personal strategy to overcome procrastination and become someone who completes tasks, drawing on the Mirror Principle and practical steps like self-affirmation, completing small tasks, using ChatGPT for support, writing, documenting progress, and managing to-do lists.

Abstract

In a candid reflection, Christina Piccoli shares her struggle with following through on her intentions, such as losing weight or writing regularly. She introduces the Mirror Principle, which suggests that one's internal thoughts and beliefs shape their external reality, and advocates for a shift in identity to become a person who finishes what they start. Piccoli details six steps to achieve this transformation: daily affirmations reinforcing her commitment, completing easy tasks for quick wins, leveraging ChatGPT for overcoming mental blocks, writing as a therapeutic tool, publicly documenting her progress, and maintaining focused to-do lists. She acknowledges the challenge of changing ingrained beliefs but is determined to make these changes, inspired by the transformation of others like Quazi Johir.

Opinions

The author believes in the power of the mind to shape reality, as per the Mirror Principle.
She emphasizes the importance of identity shifting to become someone who completes tasks.
Piccoli suggests that small, manageable tasks can build momentum and reinforce a positive self-image.
She values the use of technology, like ChatGPT, as a tool for personal development.
Writing is seen as a cathartic process that aids in working through internal conflicts.
Documenting progress is important for accountability and for inspiring others.
The author advocates for a strategic approach to to-do lists to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
She is inspired by real-life examples of personal transformation and believes in the possibility of radical change.

How I’m Going To Convince Myself I’m the Type of Person Who Finishes What They Start

Use my six strategies to become this type of person, too.

I never do what I say I’m going to do.

“I’m going to lose weight by counting calories.”

“I’m going to write and post something on Medium every day in September.”

“I’m going to update my resume and see if I can get a part-time job to get out of the house.”

“I’m going to set up an Upwork account and work on getting freelance clients.”

But something stops me every time.

There’s a block in my brain flashing red lights and saying, “But what if you can’t? What if it’s too hard? What if you fail?!”

This is the part of the mind I’m going to fix.

Here’s how.

The Mirror Principle

The Mirror Principle is something I learned from Quazi Johir. The idea is that reality is like a mirror. Your internal world (through your thoughts and beliefs) is reflected back out into your external world.

This is why people who are negative about life often have more negativity in their lives. That’s all they can “see”. It sets up a vicious cycle where negativity continuously gets reflected back to them.

(You can see this in your own life. Ever had a day that starts out bad and gets worse as the day goes on? That’s where the phrase “When it rains, it pours!” comes from.)

Generally, I’m a positive person. But I’m human so I also have some inner turmoil. I have ideas. Lots of ideas. But I never follow through on them. I get a terrible anxious feeling and procrastinate until I run out of time.

That relieves the pressure…

…until I have to think about them again.

The idea with the Mirror Principle is to change those inner thoughts and become a new version of myself. (This is called identity shifting). That’s what will then be reflected back into my reality.

One way to do this is to jump in with both feet and trust I’ll get to the other side by staying focused on this new version of myself. I’ll need to stay so focused that I become borderline delusional. Eventually, this new version will feel comfortable, and that’s when I’ll become that version in reality.

Like most worthwhile things in life, it’s simple, but not easy.

The Six Steps I’m Going To Take

Here are the steps I’m going to take to shift my identity to the type of person who does what she says she’s going to do. Use these for your own transformational shifts.

Tell myself daily that I start what I finish because that’s the type of person I am. Telling myself this over and over again will brainwash my mind (and my subconscious) that it’s true.
Pick easy tasks I started but haven’t finished. For instance, I have a pair of Peloton shoes I want to sell on Facebook Marketplace. I already took the pictures, now I need to post them. That’s an easy win. As I collect easy wins, it’ll reinforce the fact that I’m the type of person who finishes what I start.
Enlist the help of ChatGPT. I know ChatGPT isn’t a licensed therapist (or a therapist) (or a human), but I like writing in there and having it help me sort out my thoughts. I’ll ask ChatGPT to help me figure out my blocks as they come up.
Write about it. The more I write about these issues, the more I can work through them. I have heard other writers say writing is their form of therapy. I completely understand. Writing helps me sort out the 5,000 swirling thoughts inside my head.
Document my progress. For certain areas, it may be a good idea to document what I’m doing. For instance, I’m currently going through a 12-week calorie-counting challenge, and I’m documenting that here. Some things I’ll document on my Twitter/X account.
Make written to-do lists. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love a written to-do list. The problem I have with them is I tend to dump everything on there and then get overwhelmed. My solution is to have one list where I can dump all my to-dos (this will help me clear it out of my brain). Then I’ll have a second list where I have just a few items from the “big dump” list. As I complete one item from the small list, I can add one more from the “big dump” list.

It’s going to take time

Changing the internal state takes time. We all grow up with certain ideas and beliefs hammered into us, and it’s not easy to change those.

But it can be done.

Anyone who has made radical changes to their lives has had to go through this process. Even Quazi Johir (who I mentioned above), had to shift to a completely new person to become the successful businessman he is today.

Just look at the difference in his YouTube videos from when he first started until now:

Screenshots taken by the author of Quazi Johir’s YouTube channel. Image created in Canva.

So while this might be challenging, it’s a challenge I’m willing to take on.

What’s the alternative?

Continue wasting my life away and accomplishing nothing?

That’s not an option anymore.

About the Author

Hey! I’m Christina, and I love creating short, daily lists of resources and ideas to help you boost your online income. 👈 Click that astonishingly long link to sign up for free.