"Just push through it!"
Have you also heard people say that? They say things like “If you’ve set a goal (or want to be successful), you will HAVE to do some
things you don’t like. So get over reluctance and just DO IT. Push through the resistance.”
How do you feel when someone tells you that? What happens in your body, your mind, your energy system?
To that advice, I’d say: “Uhhhhh.... No! Just, no.”
What joy is there in reaching your goal if you have to
MAKE yourself do things? Yes, I do believe that on our way to a goal we will be required to STRETCH and do things that might scare us, that’s not comfortable yet, and that might even be hard.
Golden Opportunity
Here’s the thing, though. Did you know there is untapped wisdom for growth and awareness in your procrastination? And that if you push through the resistance,
you miss a golden opportunity for growth and awareness?
If we discover those HIDDEN reasons for our hesitance to take action (that’s what procrastination is, right?), we can find treasures to get to know ourselves better and clear out limits that will serve us in ALL aspects of our lives – not just our current goal or task that’s not getting done.
One of the most common reasons for procrastination is that we fear the task itself is going to be scary or unpleasant.
It might be that this task reminds us of some other unpleasant thing we had to do in the past. Or, we might just not have enough information or skill to DO the task. Or, actually, a big one is that the task actually falls in our area of WEAKNESS, not strength.
No amount forcing ourselves will ever make this task easier or more pleasant, if we don’t find a solution to THOSE reasons. And we can’t find a solution till we know what’s really in the way for us.
So when you feel yourself procrastinating, Stop and take stock of what’s really going on. And can I suggest dropping the self-judgement, too? There’s a good reason for your reluctance. Every behaviour has a
positive intention. (Yes EVERY. That’s the topic for another post!)
Examples
Here are examples of a scary or unpleasant task, and what to do about each:
