| "I'll
do it tomorrow" - the greatest labour saving statement ever
uttered, because as the cliche goes, tomorrow never comes. We've
all been in that situation. We all have things we need to do, things
we must do, even things we actually want to do and yet we don't
do them? What's the matter with us? The prognosis is that we're
suffering from a deadly brain disease called procrastination. So
what is it and what's the cure?
Firstly, it is not laziness. Procrastination does not mean inactivity,
quite the opposite. It requires a great deal of exhaustive effort
directed at any, usually irrelevant, task other than the pertinent
quest at hand.
Secondly it's not through ignorance or lacking something. It is
not through lack of a good plan. It is not through lack of good
advice. It is not the lack of ability. It is not lack of intelligence.
Neither is it lack of time nor money.
Thirdly, and most oddly, it is not because we don't want the outcome.
Why, when we know what to do, do we still not do it? Why do we fall
short? Why the sabotage?
The answer is quite mundane. We all operate on a basis of taking
a course of action that leads to the least hassle. We're all familiar
with the scenario: if today is Monday and we're aware of a certain
job that is needed to be completed by Friday morning it would be
quite likely to be perceived as a lot of hassle to do the job now.
However come Thursday night something interesting happens - we're
suddenly aware that they'll be more hassle if the job isn't done.
So we do it.
If we break down our motivation even simpler it leaves us with this
conclusion: every action we take is designed to lead us to pleasure
or to move us to avoid pain. The avoidance of pain (or hassle) is
usually stronger than the desire for pleasure. This is why we tend
to fight stronger to hold onto something we already have rather
than to strive for something better. We associate more pain to acting
than to not acting.
So what can we do about it?
If you're not acting on something and you know you need to or want
to but simply don't, you need to change one of three things about
yourself. First you must accept the concept that if you keep doing
the things you’ve always done, you'll keep getting the things
you’ve always got. Something's got to change and it isn't
an external thing either. We have to take responsibility for our
in-actions as well as our actions.
Your life is your emotions. There are three forces that control
your emotions. The first is physiology that is your biochemistry
and the movement of your body. The second is your language, the
questions you ask, the metaphors you use, the stories you tell yourself
and others about yourself which all re-enforces the third force
which is your beliefs and values.
Change one of these three emotion controlling areas, your emotions
will change. When your emotions change, your life will change. If
you can't control your emotional state then you must be addicted
to certain emotions. You literally could be addicted to the hormones
and neurotransmitters that are released when you're in that particular
emotional state. In fact that's all any addiction is, only instead
of an artificial stimulus to trigger the endorphin release such
as a drug, you're doing it with your physiology, your language and
your movement.
It's possible to be addicted to depression, to negativity and to
sloth. The good news is it's just as easy to be addicted to joy,
to optimism and to positive action. The choice comes to what you
do with your body - do you sit around slouching or get up and move
around? With your language - do you repeat the same phrases, use
negative terms and dismiss things? Do you believe 'it can't be done'
or 'this always happens to me' or other global self-defeating phrases?
Just change them. It's easy to change them. If you're dismissive
of that fact and think it's hard to change them - watch out! You
may have to consider that you might be addicted to cynicism. Consider
what affects that addiction may have on future opportunities.
The only thing that prevents you
from having what you want is the story you tell yourself which says
you can’t have it.
If you're addicted to the emotion of futility and therefore
can't think of any ways to change your emotions click
here for a recipe of suggestions to change undesired emotions
into desired ones. |
