In Leo Babauta’s Zen To Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System, he states, “If you really want to do something, you’ll work like hell to get it done. You’ll work extra hard, you’ll put in even more hours, …It’s for work that you don’t really care about that you procrastinate.”
At first glance I agreed with Leo and ultimately I believe in what he is saying. He is talking about taking action.
If no action is taken, it doesn’t matter how great your ideas or how genuine your intentions. Why then do some people procrastinate on things they DO care about? Why do people put off actions in line with their values that they know SHOULD be their top priority? Why do people fail to take action even though they think and feel that they should? Procrastination is an interesting thing. According to Tony Robbins, people procrastinate because of fear of two things:
Fear of Success– Sounds crazy eh? In some cases people fear that they will be successful and along with that comes some negative emotions and pain such as: hurting people’s feelings, surpassing those around you, being accused of thinking you are better than others, losing relationships, dealing with more stress or pressure that you correlate with success, and the list goes on.
Fear of Failure- That sounds more like it. We all know that sometimes, people procrastinate because they are afraid to fail and along with that comes some negative emotions and pain such as: feeling unloved or inadequate, proving to be incompetent, losing money or time, feeling hopeless, rejection, etc.
Robbins is also well known for his idea of Pain and Pleasure associations. This psychology plays a role in procrastination in two ways:
People Associate Pain with Taking Action- According to Robbins, many times when people don’t do something it is because they associate more pain with doing it than not doing it. For example, putting off an important phone call may be due to the anticipation of feeling sadness, anger, stress, or guilt when giving or receiving news. Failing to eat healthy or exercise might be due to us seeing those things as a painful process. Sometimes we associate our actions with causing pain for other people and that is a reason we put things off. Not causing others pain seems like a good thing…right? It can be, but if you live your life worrying about the pain you might cause, you wouldn’t do anything. Your success could cause others to feel jealousy or inadequacy, but that shouldn’t prevent you from taking action and achieving your goals.
People Associate Pleasure with NOT Taking Action- Other times people don’t do something because they associate more pleasure with not doing it than doing it. Watching TV instead of exercising, eating donuts instead of broccoli, or denying the truth because avoidance yields a more pleasurable relationship, and the list goes on. If we are experiencing pleasure, why would we do something different that we associate with pain?
So procrastination is not just something that happens as a result of not caring. Sometimes we do it when we care a great deal. If we tell ourselves, “Oh I must be procrastinating because I don’t care.” Then we will never uncover the deeper issue behind our inaction.
Are you procrastinating on taking the next step of something?
What are some fears of success or failure that might be driving you?
How do pain and pleasure play a role in your inaction?
Uncover some of the truth behind what is holding you back. Then….take action!!
