Overcoming Doubt, Fear and Procrastination: Identifying the Symptoms, Overcoming the Obstacles [Paperback]

Barbara Wright Sykes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 1996

Overcoming Doubt, Fear and Procrastination:

Two out of three people suffer from doubt, fear and procrastination. Many find that each year they never reach their goals and objectives, ultimately diminishing the quality of their personal and professional lives. This book teaches you principles to help you identify the symptoms associated with doubt, fear and procrastination and how to overcome the obstacles. 1) You will learn how to develop a sense of urgency.

2) Acquire a sincere desire to change your attitude and modify negative behavior.

3) Gain a level of commitment that will allow you to become successful.

4) Learn to leave your comfort zone and exude confidence and self esteem.

Barbara is convinced that we all have a purpose in life and must take advantage of the gifts we poses. No one should be held hostage to feelings of defeat, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, feelings of shame and guilt, poor time management, or the need to be a perfectionist and to gain approval, acceptance and permission from anyone.

In a recent interview, Barbara was quoted as saying: "There are basic principles of life that must be respected. It is imperative that you protect your mental health--at all cost!"

Recognized by the LA Times, Health Magazine, and Income Opportunity, noted author, lecturer and consultant, Barbara Wright Sykes presents a powerful and easy approach that is packed with results. This book will be your constant companion to overcoming doubt, fear and procrastination.

**(audio and workbook also available)

Note: Barbara also covers the following issues:

Accepting The Truth
Name That Fear
Doubt And Its Relationship To Fear
The Acceptance Principle
Feelings Of Shame and Guilt
Permission, Acceptance and Approval
I Don't Need You To Validate Me!
Loss of: Security, Social Status and Safety
Leaving The Comfort Zone
Keeping Up With The Joneses
Love - The Fear Of Getting Hurt
Needing Control
Giving And Taking Control
The Perfectionist
Are You Afraid Of Success?
Achieving Success Against All Odds
Overcoming The Obstacles
The NO Principle

Be sure to see Barbara's new book: Good Lovin' Ain't Easy

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barbara is no stranger to success. She hosted a popular radio talk show and is the author of Overcoming Doubt, Fear and Procrastination, Pricing Without Fear and numerous books, audio's, forms and software. Barbara has been a frequent guest on television and radio, making 125 radio appearances in one year including: KTLA, BET, WGN, ABC, CBS, Crook and Chase and Home and Family. Barbara has been recognized and praised by leading newspapers and magazines such as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Income Opportunity, and Health Magazine. She received the prestigious "International Woman of the Year" award for her contribution in the fields of business and psychology, ranking Barbara Wright Sykes in the company of such notables as former President Reagan's daughter Maureen Regan, noted attorney Gloria Alred, journalist Linda Ellerbee, actress Mariette Hartley, news anchor Kelly Lang, and Renee Taylor of The Nanny TV show.

As a business consultant for professionals desiring to start, achieve and maintain success, Barbara founded the firm Barbara Wright & Associates in 1979, she has consulted with: California State University, Midwestern State University, Union Bank, Dept. Of Agriculture and Vogue Magazine, among others. While commissioned by the fashion industries noted designers, tailors and sewing professionals to assist them with pricing, market analysis and business expansion, Barbara penned her first business text book, entitled The "Business" Of Sewing.

In demand as a business consultant, KTLA's popular morning show "Making It" featured Barbara Wright Sykes as one of Southern California's leading business consultant, speaker and author. Barbara has been a featured writer for many magazines and newspapers such as Inland Business Journal, Computer Update, Threads and Vogue Magazine.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Leaving Our Comfort Zone

by Barbara Wright Sykes

We all have a safe haven, or a place inside of us with a voice that tells us everything is okay. We set boundaries or parameters on how close people can get to us. We know instinctively just what activities we can do with little or no effort. We have rituals which we perform in our daily lives that make us feel secure. We reserve parts of our lives from others in order to escape being judged. These are all ways in which we stay in our comfort zone. These are actions that are familiar to us and therefore bring us a great deal of comfort and security. As long as we aren’t forced to leave our comfort zone, our pulse and blood pressure remain normal; we aren’t victims of stress, and happily—life goes on as normal.

The moment we are faced with change in our equilibrium, we begin to panic. Now we must introduce new activities and responsibilities that do not fit into our comfortable lifestyle. The old issues of doubt, fear and procrastination begin to surface. Immediately we fear our ability to succeed, and doubt that we could, even if we tried. So what do we do? We retreat—we simply put things off, and in some instances we do nothing at all.

In order to make ourselves feel better about our behavior, we rely on our excuses. Better yet, we lie to ourselves to give credence to the fact that we are procrastinating. How can we move past this debilitating behavior? It is imperative that we institute change. When implementing change, we must give ourselves a specific amount of time to change, and if we do not make the transformation, then we must examine our circumstances and determine whether or not professional help is needed.

The Alternate Approach... Another method would be to start by analyzing the problem. Set goals for change and take small steps in your goal plan that are attainable. Once you succeed in your initial efforts, give yourself praise and reward. Recall your victories to help you move forward through the list of goals. Therefore, change becomes imminent. This constant reminder of your successes is reinforcement that you can do it; you can set goals and implement a plan of action. Before you know it, your new behavior will take on the attributes that you desire. You will feel secure with new activities and responsibilities. As a result, you become comfortable stretching yourself to new expectations.

Just knowing that you are qualified, capable and able to make great strides is enough to catapult you into new and uncharted territory. You will gain such confidence in your accomplishments, that you will cease to fear change. You will no longer look upon your old comfort zone as status quo. You will begin to welcome change as a new and refreshing frontier, and the best part is you will no longer be held hostage by doubt, fear and procrastination.    Excerpt from her book Overcoming Doubt, Fear and Procrastination.

Barbara Wright Sykes is a nationally known author, speaker and President of Barbara Wright and Associates, a business consulting firm. Ms. Sykes was awarded the prestigious honor of International Woman Of The Year.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Collins Publications (August 12, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963285777
• ISBN-13: 978-0963285775
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,786,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barbara is no stranger to success. She hosted a popular radio talk show on KACE, and is the author of Good Lovin' Ain't Easy, Overcoming Doubt, Fear and Procrastination, Pricing Without Fear and numerous books, audio's, forms and software. Barbara has been a frequent guest on television and radio, making 125 radio appearances in one year including: KTLA, BET, WGN, ABC, CBS, Crook and Chase and Home and Family.

Barbara has been recognized and praised by leading newspapers and magazines such as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Income Opportunity, and Health Magazine. She received the prestigious "International Woman of the Year" award for her contribution in the fields of business and psychology, ranking Barbara Wright Sykes in the company of such notables as former President Reagan's daughter Maureen Regan, noted attorney Gloria Alred, journalist Linda Ellerbee, actress Mariette Hartley, news anchor Kelly Lang, and Renee Taylor of The Nanny TV show.

As a business consultant for professionals desiring to start, achieve and maintain success, Barbara founded the firm Barbara Wright & Associates in 1979, she has consulted with: California State University, Midwestern State University, Union Bank, Dept. Of Agriculture and Vogue Magazine, among others. While commissioned by the fashion industries noted designers, tailors and sewing professionals to assist them with pricing, market analysis and business expansion, Barbara penned her first business text book, entitled The "Business" Of Sewing.

In demand as a business consultant, KTLA's popular morning show "Making It" featured Barbara Wright Sykes as one of Southern California's leading business consultants, speakers and authors. Barbara has been a featured writer for many magazines and newspapers such as Inland Business Journal, Computer Update, Threads and Vogue Magazine.

Barbara's novel, Good Lovin' Ain't Easy, is the first installment in Sykes amazing books where she raises the stakes as she negotiates the characters in and out of life-changing experiences. She is the master of witty dialogue, steamy love scenes and suspense-driven plots. Sykes' novels are exhilarating to read. One reader had this to say:

"Sykes' incorporates her uncanny insights into relationships and the human psyche to deftly weave a mesmerizing tale about sincere, but flawed, characters we can relate to. The characters, and their actions, ring true, allowing her reader to experience vicariously the joys, fears, heartbreaks and triumphs of individuals they come to know intimately."

Ms. Wright Sykes is a multi-talented author whose intellectual range spans from novels, to business and psychology. As a speaker, constantly in demand, she stimulates a broad wave of discussion as she guides individuals to reach levels of success in both their personal and professional lives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing, December 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Overcoming Doubt, Fear and Procrastination: Identifying the Symptoms, Overcoming the Obstacles (Paperback)

The author handles overcoming doubt, fear and procrastination like no other book I have read. She not only describes the sympthoms of each so we can easily recognize them in our own lives, but she gives you actions, ideas and techniques for overcoming each one. This book is a must read for anyone wanting to imporve personally and professionally. It has helped me in my personal as well as my professional life. The big thing for me was procrastination. I had it bad. Thanks to Overcoming Doubt, Fear and Procrastination and author, Barbara Wright-Sykes, I am achieving my goals for 1998 and working on 1999.