By Sheevaun Moran.
One of the most energy sapping things you can do is procrastinate. But how to stop is the real issue.
Here are some surefire ways to end that nagging issue of procrastinating.
Past – Avoiding things works because doing something may cause fear, anxiety and make us just feel bad. Many people feel, “I’m not doing something right” or “I won’t do it right anyway” so I’ll avoid doing it at all.
Solution – Anxiety is just fight or flight and fear is something I can push through and have a victory on the other side.
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Past – It has to be perfect. I don’t want to do anything unless it’s perfect. I’ll get in trouble if it’s not perfect.
Solution – Do the best you can, as that is perfection in itself. Perfection is just a tactic to stop myself from moving forward. It really is much easier than it is in your head.
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Past – Failure is death and I must not fail. I won’t do it because I might fail. If I do succeed it would be a miracle and miracles just don’t happen to me.
Solution – It is good to be human. Humans have been failing for millennia and your failure is actually your reward to a much better situation because you have failed before and you are still alive.
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Past – I shouldn’t have to. I’ve already gained experience in so many areas and I just shouldn’t have to, so I won’t. If it feels uncomfortable I shouldn’t have to do it. I only want happy and fun.
Solution – All you need is 20 seconds of courage. Sometimes doing things I need to do is a fantastic feeling. The sooner it’s done the sooner I get to my fun. Might as well have fun sooner.
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Past – It doesn’t feel right. The stars, moon and right time just haven’t shown up and if I wait it will show up.
Solution – Waiting is over -the time is NOW. Your fear and anxiety are fantastic excuses to wait but doing it now is the exact right time. If you are in fear, you are in the future. Get grounded, get it done and move on. Life will be that much more rewarding and fun.
Procrastination is often not a conscious decision. Oftentimes, it is the hidden result of a mental or physical medical condition. When one is in pain, it is difficult to build the motivation to do any particular ‘job’, no matter how simple it may seem. One often knows what they ‘should’ do, but the strength doesn’t join with the thought. It’s very similar to depression. One can’t just ‘be happy’, when struggling with depression. Procrastination seems to be a part of a bigger problem, people that are often already over worked or overly mentally stimulated, are the ones that seem to ‘procrastinate’, when their minds and bodies simply cannot function further. It would seem beneficial for life coaches, when dealing with a client that seems to procrastinate a fair amount, to recommend seeing a doctor before suggesting they just jump in and do whatever is expected of them.
Dear Kathy,
Procrastination is not going to be solved by a doctor. It is an underlying issue, as you mention. It can be solved by looking within oneself. When you look within at the reason you’re procrastinating you are giving light and healing energy to start the journey. If one is the victim of procrastination and they just repeat again and again that they procrastinate and that’s all there is to it, then it will reinforce the situation. Being the victim to any pattern, program or attitude is like driving your car into the tree and expecting the tree to move.
I worked with a client the other day who is a big time procrastinator and her underlying issue is that she wants to be rescued. She wants everyone to pay for her parents’ lack of attention when she was a child. After the session she reported that for the first time ever she is handling more of her own responsibilities. Our session work created the energetic space to allow the issues that created her need to procrastinate to begin to dissolve.
Thank you for the comment!
Sheevaun