Consider this, if all of us in wrong jobs played musical chairs, we might all find ourselves in right jobs. The accountant who hates numbers but loves helping people with their problems switches careers with therapist who falls asleep during his sessions but loves to balance his checkbook. What if we were all doing what we were passionate about? Would our courageous move toward passion make a better world? That seems pretty practical.

Talent And Experience

Our talents are most often coupled with our passion simply because we rarely improve on areas that we have no interest. Experience does not have to be quantified in number of paid hours. That is hostage paycheck mentality. Life is more balanced than your checkbook, so depend on it to understand your real experience in areas you want to pursue as a career. In other words align your talents with your life experience.

Do you volunteer at a homeless shelter? Do you belong to society of Antique Collecting? Have you achieved weight loss and now want to teach others? These are life experiences that may not be quantified by pay, but are worth their weight in gold.

People Power

The primary power for moving toward your career of choice lies in locating others who will support you in making this goal a reality. Networking is absolutely vital to progress. Join professional organizations within your interest. Locate headhunters and recruiters that can put you in right place at right time. Surround yourself with powerful individuals that will pave way and before you know it, you will be working in your career of choice.

So how do you overcome this powerful procrastination tendency? By asking yourself *why* you keep doing it. Is it because you feel inadequate to complete task? Or does thinking about doing it make you uncomfortable? Or do you feel that if you can't do something perfectly, you don't want to do it t all? Once you understand "why" behind procrastinating, you've taken a major first step towards dealing with it.

In my situation with that miserable piece of paper, I'd felt inadequate to perform task correctly. I needed more information. Once I realized that, I was able to take steps to get information I needed, and urge to put task off disappeared.

What if I had realized instead that I was uncomfortable performing task? Let's say assignment was something that struck me as unethical, or that I perceived would cause me harm or embarrassment. Again, had I come to these realizations, I would better know what steps to take to address them. Maybe I would have expressed these concerns to my boss, instead of simply asking her for clarification, or perhaps I would have suggested that it be reassigned to someone more capable of performing it safely.

As for perfectionism...this is perhaps most potent cause for procrastination. While striving to do one's very best in each endeavor is admirable, settling for nothing less than perfect stops us from even trying. At 1976 Olympics Nadia Comaneci made history, becoming first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10. Could she have achieved such an accomplishment without a great deal of efforts, or hundreds of hours of practice? Of course not.

So, if you're putting off something that means a great deal to you, ask yourself: Is it because you feel inadequate to perform it? Then turn to those who can help you sharpen your skills. Does task cause you discomfort? Perhaps you need to break it down into smaller tasks, until you can build up a comfort level that allows you to try something greater. Are you a perfectionist? Recognize truth in "practice makes perfect," and practice, practice, practice.

And one more thing--try not to ever handle same piece of paper twice.

Mary Anne Hahn is a freelance writer who wants to encourage others to follow their dreams. If you're looking to start an online business on a shoestring budget, she invites you to join her at http://goalsetter.buildreferrals.com , or email her for more information, mailto: goalsetter@buildreferrals.net .