The Three Usual Excuses For Procrastination

By: Matthew Wong

Have you ever thought about the reasons why you procrastinate? Procrastination is, really, a very strange behaviour and is a trap that all of us are likely to fall into now and again. On a conscious level you might want to complete something or achieve something and although you recognize what you have to do, you still cant seem to prevail on yourself to actually complete it. It's practically like there is some {invisible|unseen|subconsious} force that prevents you from taking action and you can't completely explain what it is - from a logical view at least.

Though it may seem that there is no plausible explanation for this seemingly illogical behaviours, there are still valid reasons for procrastination. These reasons, however, are not always that obvious. Human behaviour is not random or accidental - everything we do is done for a purpose. In fact, everything we do is done with helpful purpose. Everything that you do is driven by your wish to improve your position at some level of your awareness. It is impractical for someone to do something that she believes will leave her poorer off. For some people this might result in killing themselves, whereas for others it might bring about climbing a mountain, whereas for others it may cause the giving up of a unhealthy habit. It all varies according to our attitude.

This is a very important idea to comprehend if you are to realize the reasons for procrastination. While there are countless reasons on the surface as to why you may procrastinate, the underlying reason always boils down to one aspect: FEAR. Fear is what shuts you down and forbids you from taking action. By design fear is here to help you. Whenever you fear something you will be compelled to prevent an encounter with whatever you fear.

Even though fear is the essential reason behind procrastination, we are inclined to see precise regular fears among procrastinators. Here are the three most widespread excuses for procrastination and the qualms that we subconsciously attach to them:

Fear #1: The Fear Of Obnoxious Or Painful Experiences

If you believe that some actions will lead to a distressing or unpleasant experience then you will feel compelled to avoid the action. Your nervous system is intended to evade painful experiences. The ironic thing is that we get to decide what we accept as true, and what will be untrue. Regrettably for most of us, our beliefs were installed by default and we learned by association. Via our experiences we learned by our consequences and we are likely to make use of this limited information from (mostly) past experiences to make up impending meanings. We start imagining potential consequences to the point where we truly believe them. If you believe that some action will lead to a painful or unpleasant experience, you will steer clear of it, regardless of whether your inference is accurate or not. What you accept as true is what is real for you.

Fear #2: The Fear Of Failure

When you fear failure you are inclined to circumvent participating in the first place. The regular association is that if I don't do it, then I can't not succeed and no one is able to judge me. This is very prominent amongst procrastinators and they regularly hide behind the precision trap. They will wait for things to be flawless until they take action, so they keep holding off tasks waiting for the {right time|perfect time|right moment|perfect moment} before they undergo action. Out of the fear of failing and looking bad, they would often use up immeasurable amounts of time on a project without making any real development because at a unconscious level they don't want to finish. A complete assignment will make them open to for criticism and therefore failure. The consequence is that they always find good reasons to delay or even avoid the tasks together.

Fear #3: The Fear Of Being Left Out

In the flurry of contemporary living we all want to get a section of the pie so to speak. We just cannot avoid it. Every day we get bombarded with various opportunities. It seems like the media's only mission is to get our notice (which it is). The trial is that we dont want to miss out. No one wants to be left behind and miss out on what everyone else is getting. The trial with this is that we are likely to take on way too much to the point where we are overwhelmed. When you feel overwhelmed, the natural effect is to shut down. The consequence is ordinarily procrastination. When you overburden yourself with too many things that you have to do you plainly cannot deal with all of it and procrastination comes to your aid. Like a breaker switch in an electric current, procrastination will kick in when the weight becomes too tedious.

These three factors are by no means the only reasons for procrastination, but it is absolutely some of the most regular. An understanding of these fears in itself can help you to triumph over procrastination. Understand that F.E.A.R is only an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real and most of your fears are only made-up. You can smash through your fears and take action. It is your fundamental strength to manage and steer your life. Don't tolerate procrastination and indecisiveness to keep you immobilized. Keep moving onward. Keep taking action.

Reprinted from: Communication Skills Articles.

101 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination Now!

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated

Additional Articles From - Home | Self Development | Organizing