Keep moving that task to another day?
Find yourself checking your phone or social media instead of diving into that goal?
Has your motivation in an area of your life virtually disappeared?
You need to know my secret to defeat procrastination.
If you don’t, you’ll keep wanting to improve but continue stagnating.
You’ll hate the feelings of guilt and failure, but still break your promises to yourself.
Here’s my secret…
Procrastination is defeated when we see how a task could bring us peace.
Primarily, procrastination is not a motivation problem.
Lack of motivation implies a paralysis of the soul.
But we are like sharks, always moving towards what we see as peace.
Even if you experience numbness of the emotions, passivity of the will, and inactivity of the mind, it’s a movement towards something.
We encounter numbness and emptiness when we spend enough time avoiding internal conflicts.
And the reason we avoid processing these conflicts is because we think paying attention to them will bring us anything but peace.
So, what’s the soul to do if you will not move towards inner wholeness?
The soul will numb the pain to get peace.
It moves towards peace even if the route you choose ultimately keeps you in a state of not-peace.
So you see, even if your inner world seems to be stagnate, it’s very much alive and active.
Procrastination is a vision problem.
When we are procrastinating, we are “seeing” (thinking, speaking, believing) that the tasks we are avoiding require great effort and yield small returns.
It doesn’t seem that doing those tasks will bring you peace.
So, we look for something else that we believe will give more peace for less effort.
Perhaps a chuckle from a worthless TikTok video.
Or a sense of importance from likes on Facebook or an urgent email.
Sometimes I wander aimlessly around the office or house when I’m procrastinating.
Wandering provides me with a sense of accomplishing something without actually doing what I should.
And it gives me a chance to enter an unplanned conversation with…anyone.
The quick connection and amusement I get out of the random conversation seems to be more peaceful than the deep, hard work of writing, planning, coaching, marketing, etc.
However, it sabotages my sense of purpose and undermines my best contributions to the world.
Then my conscience won’t let me get away with that.
Yeah. That’s not peace.
The trick to motivation is to see and keep looking at what your work would do for you if you did it.
See beyond the task to the result.
Check out the future that that task or sequence of tasks will bring.
If it’s the future you want, you’ll find motivation to overcome whatever challenge is between you and that future.
You will move towards what you believe is peace.
No matter how difficult the tasks. No matter if you like them or not.
It’s inevitable.
WARNING!
Nobody can see properly by themselves.
Left to our own discernment, we confuse paths to peace with quick hits of dopamine from worthless amusements or shallow behaviors.
We need instruction, accountability, and help processing.
Find reliable people that consistently provide all three of these needs for your vision.
If you need a coach to help you develop your vision and overcome procrastination, contact me here.
We’ll set up a right fit call and make a plan.
I’m rooting for you.
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