Procrastinating is a very common problem in our society today. It seems to be more of a problem especially in the workplace. There are many factors that play a part in procrastination and why humans do it.
What is Procrastination? People procrastinate when they put off activities that could and, in many cases should, be done now. Procrastinators defer the activities until a later time. The term does not apply to people who have two equally important things to do and must pick one to do first. Rather, it applies to people that have tasks or activities with clear priorities and put off the most important task or activity needlessly for the purpose of delaying it.
So what exactly is procrastination? Procrastination is when a person literally avoids doing a task that they know they should be doing. It could be any task, from making a simple phone call to someone, or losing weight, to more important issues such as finishing a duty in the workplace that may cause you to lose your job if it isn't completed.Procrastination is a bad habit that usually has bad end results from doing it. If this sounds familiar, then it may be time for you to learn to stop procrastinating.
To be successful you have to deal with the underlying way in which procrastination works. You procrastinate because of the way you are wired biologically. Everything you do in life is driven by your desire to gain pleasure and avoid pain. You will also do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. So if you link any pain with taking action, even in order to gain pleasure, your association with the pain will stop you from taking action and you will procrastinate.To stop procrastinating there's no point in focusing on the pleasure you will get from achieving your goal instead of the pain to get there because you already know your drive to avoid pain will always win. Rather you must compare the pain you link with taking action to the pain you will feel if you don't take action.
I was working with a friend recently who wanted to lose weight. She had identified that she needed to do exercise to help her achieve this. Unfortunately she always found a way to get out of the exercise and wanted desperately to stop procrastinating. I asked her to tell me what losing weight would do for her. She said she would feel more comfortable in her clothes; that shopping for clothes would be more pleasurable, she would feel more attractive and she would feel happy that she was doing something to improve her health.
Then I asked her to tell me what came to mind when she had to exercise. She told me it was hard, she hated being out of breath, was sure people were laughing at her and she didn't want to have painful muscles the next day. No wonder she couldn't stop procrastinating! Like all of us, she is wired to avoid pain first, so even though she wanted to lose weight to experience all the pleasurable benefits she had given me, skipping the exercise because of the pain she linked with it was the greater motivator. I asked her to tell me what would happen if she didn't exercise. "I'll stay fat." she said. "What will that mean?" I asked. She said she would continue to feel unattractive, her clothes would cut into her skin because they were too tight, people would snicker behind her back whenever she was out to eat and she would possibly get diabetes. I wanted her to stop procrastinating so I asked whether she would rather experience the pain linked to the exercise or the pain linked to staying fat. There was no hesitation. The pain linked to staying fat would be far worse and more permanent.
Another common reason why we procrastinate is out of anger. If someone is forced into doing something that they do not want to do, they rebel by avoiding the issue. This is so common during the teen years. The task is usually poorly done, if done at all.
NLP and hypnotherapy do not focus on why you procrastinate but rather on how your thoughts keep you from accomplishing that which needs to be done. Together, NLP and hypnotherapy, work to focus your mind on what needs to be accomplished and helps to motivate you to accomplish those tasks. The goal of NLP and hypnotherapy is to cause you to make changes in the ways that you think and react rather than focusing on the underlying cause. For many people, this is a comfortable and effective way to stop procrastination problems and to start accomplishing personal and professional goals.
What is Procrastination? People procrastinate when they put off activities that could and, in many cases should, be done now. Procrastinators defer the activities until a later time. The term does not apply to people who have two equally important things to do and must pick one to do first. Rather, it applies to people that have tasks or activities with clear priorities and put off the most important task or activity needlessly for the purpose of delaying it.
So what exactly is procrastination? Procrastination is when a person literally avoids doing a task that they know they should be doing. It could be any task, from making a simple phone call to someone, or losing weight, to more important issues such as finishing a duty in the workplace that may cause you to lose your job if it isn't completed.Procrastination is a bad habit that usually has bad end results from doing it. If this sounds familiar, then it may be time for you to learn to stop procrastinating.
To be successful you have to deal with the underlying way in which procrastination works. You procrastinate because of the way you are wired biologically. Everything you do in life is driven by your desire to gain pleasure and avoid pain. You will also do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. So if you link any pain with taking action, even in order to gain pleasure, your association with the pain will stop you from taking action and you will procrastinate.To stop procrastinating there's no point in focusing on the pleasure you will get from achieving your goal instead of the pain to get there because you already know your drive to avoid pain will always win. Rather you must compare the pain you link with taking action to the pain you will feel if you don't take action.
I was working with a friend recently who wanted to lose weight. She had identified that she needed to do exercise to help her achieve this. Unfortunately she always found a way to get out of the exercise and wanted desperately to stop procrastinating. I asked her to tell me what losing weight would do for her. She said she would feel more comfortable in her clothes; that shopping for clothes would be more pleasurable, she would feel more attractive and she would feel happy that she was doing something to improve her health.
Then I asked her to tell me what came to mind when she had to exercise. She told me it was hard, she hated being out of breath, was sure people were laughing at her and she didn't want to have painful muscles the next day. No wonder she couldn't stop procrastinating! Like all of us, she is wired to avoid pain first, so even though she wanted to lose weight to experience all the pleasurable benefits she had given me, skipping the exercise because of the pain she linked with it was the greater motivator. I asked her to tell me what would happen if she didn't exercise. "I'll stay fat." she said. "What will that mean?" I asked. She said she would continue to feel unattractive, her clothes would cut into her skin because they were too tight, people would snicker behind her back whenever she was out to eat and she would possibly get diabetes. I wanted her to stop procrastinating so I asked whether she would rather experience the pain linked to the exercise or the pain linked to staying fat. There was no hesitation. The pain linked to staying fat would be far worse and more permanent.
Another common reason why we procrastinate is out of anger. If someone is forced into doing something that they do not want to do, they rebel by avoiding the issue. This is so common during the teen years. The task is usually poorly done, if done at all.
NLP and hypnotherapy do not focus on why you procrastinate but rather on how your thoughts keep you from accomplishing that which needs to be done. Together, NLP and hypnotherapy, work to focus your mind on what needs to be accomplished and helps to motivate you to accomplish those tasks. The goal of NLP and hypnotherapy is to cause you to make changes in the ways that you think and react rather than focusing on the underlying cause. For many people, this is a comfortable and effective way to stop procrastination problems and to start accomplishing personal and professional goals.
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