Procrastination, How to Break the Cycle

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You may delay, but time will not. ~Benjamin Franklin

At some time in our lives, all of us have procrastinated. Procrastination seems harmless enough, but actually procrastination can become a way of life. We build habits through repetition. In this article I am going to concentrate on two of the leading reasons people procrastinate, fear of failure and fear of success.

Emotion seems to play a big role in procrastination. Many individuals fear that they will make a mistake, or that they will spend an incredible amount of time and effort on a project only to see it fail. They fail to realize that many times these are the steps necessary to produce the results that they actually seek. Another reason we procrastinate is making a mistake, or failing in front of our peers. Not only is this humiliating but also disappointing. Fear of failure can actually keep you from getting the desired results; in turn this will reinforce the fact that you are a failure.

As a consultant, procrastination can prove devastating to you career. Simple acts like not returning phone calls, not getting a quote in on time and waiting to the last minute to begin a project are roads to disaster.

To be successful in defeating procrastination, we must begin to understand and recognize the psychological triggers that cause us to procrastinate. To understand your emotional triggers you must change the way you think. Most people move away from pain to get to pleasure. Most people will avoid pain at all cost. In our minds, we begin to associate whatever task it is that we must perform as “pain”.

Example: (Tech Support Call) Company XYZ bought my product, and now they need tech support. I’m not sure if I can answer all of their questions, and they seem really upset. I’ll call them tomorrow; maybe they will figure out the solution themselves or forget that they needed to speak to me.

The consultant in the above example is fearful of confrontation with the client. They are fearful that they will not know enough about the solution themselves to help the client with their problem.

How destructive could the above scenario be for the consultant? The consultant immediately recognizes this situation as “painful” an emotional trigger is fired, and the consultant immediately looks for “pleasure” which is “Not” returning the phone call, and not having to deal with the questions and confrontation. The consultant associates not accomplishing or focusing on the task as a reprieve.

How can the consultant turn this around? The consultant can change this around by changing his/her focus. Instead of looking at this as a conversation that is going to be painful and confrontational, he could look at this as an opportunity. This is a chance for him/her to gain useful information about his/her product or service. This is actually an opportunity to grow.

Depending on your business, what could you do to set yourself up in a powerful position so as to not be intimidated by confrontation? Make sure you know your own solution inside and out. Prepare a database of FAQ’s. Greet each call as an opportunity to learn how you can better your products and services. Ask yourself empowering questions. Another good example is to create goals. Be able to visualize yourself completing these goals, actually see yourself as if you have completed these goals. Imagine what it would be like if you did not complete these goals. Imagine the consequences. Make the consequences powerful enough that you will want to change.

Fear of Success

Believe it or not, one of the greatest culprits of procrastination is fear of success. Many individuals that have been successful once, feel they will always be expected to succeed in their endeavors. Emotionally, many successful individuals carry the burden of family and business on their shoulders. Jealousy can quickly create an emotional divide between you and your family and friends. How can this be true? Fear of success is unique because it only happens when you are genuinely creating and change and moving forward.

Suppose your business takes off, and you become extremely successful. You are able to buy a nice car, nice jewelry and you begin to travel for pleasure. There will always be friends and family that will become jealous. They will tell you that you aren’t the same person that they used to know. They will tell you that you’ve changed. And, many times because we love our family and our friends so much, we will begin to revert back to our old ways. We will want to maintain a balance with these individuals. They will want, and expect you to come back to their level. Most family and friends will do this not to hurt you, but because they fear that they will lose you. They are afraid that you are moving on beyond the life that they have created around you.

One of the most common fears of success is that you will accomplish all that you set out to do, but you still feel unfulfilled once you reach your goal. Another powerful deterrent is you believe that you are unworthy of your success and the benefits and rewards that are a result of your accomplishments. Others feel that once they achieve a certain level of success that they will not be able to progress, much less sustain the level of success they have already achieved. Lastly is the fear that your success is built on a house of cards, and that it will come crashing down any moment.

These are powerful negative thoughts. Not only do they possess the power to make us think twice about succeeding, they also have the ability to bring about disastrous consequences. You could lose the motivation and the desire to grow, to achieve and succeed.

What are some of the consequences? I can think of quite a few! Self-destructive behavior, inability to achieve goals, loss of personal growth, inability to solve problems, loss of motivation, emotional imbalance, feelings of guilt, anxiety when you do succeed. The list goes on and on. But, just as there are consequences, there can be benefits and rewards by rewiring the way you think.

Again, depending on your business, how could you create new behavior patterns that would enable you to overcome your fear of success? You could begin with a clear vision of the future. Clearly visualize your obstacles and develop ways to tackle them, and then visualize your life when you are successful. Be honest with yourself; appraise your level of achievement! Be accepting of who you are, take a healthy look at your accomplishments. Set achievable goals, and progress in reasonable increments. Set-up long range goals and short range goals. Learn to accept compliments from others with an open mind.

Transforming yourself can be as easy as asking yourself the right questions. When you ask yourself a question, you mind has to answer. You can either ask your mind a great question or a lousy question. I always try to ask myself empowering questions. Empowering questions usually begin with “How”. “How” precedes a question that creates an environment of a problem that can be solved. If you want a better answer, ask a better question.

Here are some examples:

How can I be honest with myself and accept my success?
How can I visualize my goals more succinctly?
How can I improve my inner dialogue?
How can I honestly appraise my accomplishments, my failures?
How can I stay motivated and focused?

If you let it, procrastination will rob you of some of the most wondrous things in life. Procrastination can keep us in a safe little cocoon that makes us incapable of growing; it keeps us from exploring the unknown. Take time today to start making changes!

To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing. ~Eva Young

This article was written by Stephen K Knight. You may use this article on your website, or email copies to friends as long as the article remains in its completed form with the authors name included.

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