The Thief of Time
Procrastination ? What is it? The dictionary definition identifies it as’ the act or habit of putting something off’. Latin pro- onward and crastinus – tomorrow.
Is it in your nature or part of your personality, or is it a learned behaviour? Or is it just laziness, lethargy and putting something off that you know should be done now. We have probably all done it and we all know how bad it can make us feel in the long term.
Procrastination can become is a habit. People effectively reward themselves by relaxing before they have achieved anything. They will often delude themselves that their life is under control and they can deal with it at any time or when they feel ready. In the meantime, the problem escalates and gets bigger and bigger. In the same way that people smoke, drink and overeat, people procrastinate to give themselves comfort, or to help them relax or give themselves a break.
Procrastination might start unwittingly maybe when a person is under a huge amount of stress – going through a life-changing event, like illness, bereavement or divorce. In relation, to what is going on in their lives, certain tasks or duties seem trivial compared with what they, or their loves ones are going through. They may often give themselves permission to let things slip. Other people and authorities may also give them permission to let things slide because they have a lot on their plate. Never-the-less, those tasks do need to be addressed, at some point in the future.
We are now under a huge amount of pressure to appear successful in what we do. Some people do not necessarily want material success but they can still load themselves with unwanted pressure until they cannot cope. A typical procrastinator could have many responsibilities or duties but will often look for more distractions from the tasks he/she should be dealing with and take on more and more. Procrastination could even lead to depression for those who need a sense of achievement.
So, what else can cause procrastination. It could be caused by physical problems such as fatigue, stress, poor vision or hearing or a physical inability or weakness.
It could be about our attitude – our view of ourselves. Perhaps, wanting to avoid discomfort, or fear of failure and even fear of success.
Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by our lack of understanding or knowledge – particularly for technical tasks like building a website or doing spreadsheets. We can be afraid of technology and interacting and managing our lives online. We can imagine things are more difficult than they are.
Many people do not consider that the environment they live or work in could affect their productivity. Clutter, not having the correct equipment/tools, poor organisation, slow computer, bad lighting can all cause delay and exhaust us.
Lack of human contact/ motivation/support is demotivating for many. People generally bounce off each other and stimulate thoughts and ideas and activity. They can pace each other with their energy.
If you feel that it is hard to get things done or achieve your goals and move forward in your life it is definitely worth thinking about all these things. Hypnotherapy is extremely motivational in helping people overcome Procrastination. It can help you achieve your goals and visualise positive and successful outcomes. It will help you pace yourself and think about how you can improve the quality of your life and enjoy it with a sense of fulfillment.
Sue Turner DCH ADHP
Candela Clinical Hypnosis Henley on Thames
Chelsea Natural Health Clinic Fulham Road.
www.candela-hypnosis.co.uk