Procrastination - What's Causing Yours?

In order to get what you want in life, and in business, you need to find out is what's stopping you when you don't do, or put off doing, whatever it is you know you need to do.  Whenever you procrastinate, it's because you believe taking action is going to be more 'painful' than doing nothing, or not taking that particular action.

At the other extreme, if you procrastinate for too long, it can backfire on you!  For example, if you keep putting off, say your tax return, you get to a point the night before it's due when you realise that not doing it is going to be even more painful than doing it.  And then, all night long, you experience the pain of getting the job done.  If you're nodding your head, you've been there too!

The solution is to learn to control the motivating forces of 'pain and pleasure'.

This means understanding that whatever you focus your attention on is what is most real to you.  Therefore, if you want to change your behaviour you must focus your attention on

1.    How not changing your behaviour will be more painful than changing it
2.    How changing it will bring you measurable and immediate pleasure.

If you're avoiding anything in your life, or if you're sabotaging your success in any area, it could be because you have a mixed set of associations about pain and pleasure.  For example you think that by doing something (developing a new income stream) you will gain more pleasure, but you also think it might mean pain (you'll have to go out and sell the new products).  With this thinking, as soon as you start to make progress you'll sabotage yourself.

If you want to change this once and for all, you have to decide RIGHT NOW that you control the focus of your mind.  if you're not following through, what you have to do is focus on "What's the pain I'm going to have if I don't do this?" instead of focusing on the pain you MIGHT experience from taking the action.  It will also help to focus on what pleasure you will experience when you do follow through.  You need to change what you link pain and pleasure to in order to change your behaviour.

How do you deal with procrastination (if it affects you)?  I'd love you to comment below - and if you enjoyed reading this post, please retweet or share!