Procrastination is a habit that functions to protect the person from the risks of innovations and possible changes. The unconscious gives the person scenarios that are appropriate and logical at the conscious level in order to stay in a stable and safe space with our accustomed selves. One of the most convincing aspects of these scenarios is that they promise security, comfort and a designated area where risk is minimized. The result of not “acting” in accordance with them is to postpone what will be done, sometimes even what is wanted to be done.
However, the main need of the procrastinator is to feel safe. Although inaction, that is, procrastination, provides comfort in the short term and seems to make the sense of security sustainable, in the long run, one’s wishes, plans and intentions; that is, he eventually turns his own potential into someone who has been shelved, and essentially that is where the real risk is. The procrastinator begins to be trapped in a state of “not living in order not to die” throughout his life, by escaping the “death” of his current state by choosing inaction to maintain the sense of security in his current state.
However, what will cure the fear of death is not to live or to try to be consoled by plans that have turned into dreams and fantasies, but to take action by accepting the risks of losing, failing, not getting what you want, that is, trying to live.
The unconscious, which comes into play before embarking on an action or series of actions to reveal itself, begins to suggest messages that the person has heard since childhood, namely insecurity and possible risks, in various ways.
“You can not”
“This is not your place”
“I can’t handle something that big”
“I have enough, what more can I ask for”
“Unfortunate things will happen to me for sure”
“What if something like this happens, alas! What do I do then?”
Not to eliminate these suggestions, or in some cases not to be able to; It can become an ongoing procrastination.
In summary, if you’re procrastinating, it’s not because you’re lazy or lazy. If you are procrastinating, both your body and soul have entered a situation where they are positioned in the face of a threat.
You have work to do. Dishes piled up in the sink. You have to do grocery shopping. You have promised yourself to start your new training program. Now, you have convinced yourself that you will live more planned and planned from the next day and it will feel good. However, while thinking about them, you find yourself sitting in a vicious circle of your thoughts and feelings about them. All you do is scroll through social media on your phone or watch videos that are useless in any way.
This time you start to blame and blame yourself.
“Why can’t I do anything?”
“I can’t even start anything!”
“How lazy I am!”
“However, I could have done this by tomorrow!”
“I could not postpone our meeting with my close friend!”
In fact, it is none of these. The way you perceive things to do and yourself doing them has put you in a position where you are positioned in the face of a threat and “frozen” there.
In this state, we may feel things like:
– Even though we sleep enough, sometimes too much, we can’t feel rested.
– We can’t be motivated
– We feel alienated and dull
– Our inner speech, in which we blame ourselves for this situation, cannot function other than to imprison us in this situation.
So how do we get out of this vicious cycle of procrastination and self-blame?
– Try to describe to yourself that you are in some kind of vicious circle, and what brought you to this point: An effort to understand what you put off doing and why their completion became a threat to you, rather than a narrative that you are lazy, procrastinating, or lazy. show.
– Do small “self-activation” exercises that will take you out of your situation, albeit slightly, and break the vicious circle: Going for a walk is the most accessible. Breathing exercises can be one of them.
– Try to increase your tolerance for being blocked or facing obstacles: Establish daily routines where you are less likely to encounter obstacles. Doing them will increase your tolerance and give you motivation to take action on other plans you’ve put off.
– Get psychological counseling to identify and change the reasons for your inner speech and perception patterns that lead you to procrastination.
