Would You Like To Stop Procrastinating?
By: Roseanna Leaton
We all procrastinate over some things in life. I myself spent a couple of hours today procrastinating about a short trip to the market to get some necessities. Necessity eventually overcame my reluctance to take that trip, when my stomach began to grumble about being empty!
What is procrastination? What causes it? In my case today, I just didn't want to go shopping. Well that's not strictly true; I was perfectly happy sitting at home, on the sofa, laptop on my knee. I didn't want to go shopping for everyday things. Had it been a trip to the shoe department, I have to admit I may have felt a little more enthusiastic. Had a trip to the golf course been on the card, I would have been out of the door as quick as a flash.
Most often in life, we do what we want to do if at all possible. We search for ways in which we can do what we like doing and search with just as much effort to find reasons why we don't have to do what we don't like doing. If you are procrastinating you are doing so for a reason. Perhaps you just don't like to do whatever it is that you are putting off. Maybe, however, an element of fear or a lack of confidence lies beneath a veneer of procrastination. Perhaps it is just not worth the effort it would involve.
A good question to ask yourself is "what's stopping you from stopping procrastinating?" Is there anything that procrastinating does for you, by way of shielding you from situations which might induce anxiety, or protecting you from entering an arena in which you might not feel confident or comfortable? Perhaps procrastination is nothing more than a habit, but this is somewhat unusual.
To overcome procrastination effectively, a different emotion needs to be elicited when thinking about the task in hand. You have to feel that the task is worthwhile. To change the emotion you have to change the thoughts which are habitually running through your mind. It is easy to understand procrastination when the task in question evokes fear and anxiety. It is equally understandable if one procrastinates over something which might embarrass or cause loss of face...unless you could learn to laugh at yourself a bit more, in which case, embarrassment will no longer hold you back.
Procrastination does hold you back. This is an undeniable fact. If you are going to do something you may as well get it done, instead of chewing over it in your mind for hours on end. That is ineffective use of energy and brain power. You could be using your imagination far more wisely; you could spend that mental effort in finding ways in which to think about the "task" differently. How could you see it as a positive challenge? Or perhaps as fun?
If you want to overcome procrastination this is what you have to do. You have teach yourself to see the tasks that you habitually put of in a different light, and also create a burning desire to get that task done. It is amazing how you can see things in a different way once you start looking for an alternative approach. The human mind is inherently adaptable. You might start by thinking about how good you'll feel when you have done whatever it is and it's no longer hanging around like a thunder cloud about to burst. You might think about how confident and successful you will feel when it's all done and dusted. Think about the sense of achievement you can enjoy.
The next step in overcoming procrastination is to start thinking about how enjoyable the task itself might be. Think about the good aspects of the job. Deliberately allow your mind to wander over the answers to these questions. There is always something to be enjoyed in every task, and if you are going to do something you may as well enjoy doing it.
"The secret of happiness is not doing what one likes, but liking what one has to do" Author Unknown.
If you really want to stop procrastinating, you will find a way to do so, and you will become a lot happier with your life. Life is really very short, and it should not be put off forever.
LoVe & HaPPiness to ALL:
♥Stassy♥Love♥
~♥ Love Guides~Fear Divides ♥~
~♥ Love Guides~Anger Divides ♥~
~♥ Love Guides~Hatred Divides♥~
~♥Love is The Key ♥ Be the Key ♥~
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