[opinion follows]
(uhh…I went long again. If you want to get to the practical conclusion, it’s the last italicized bit way down there at the bottom.)
(First, The Principle)
One helpful way of framing Procrastination is as a motivation issue.
But not the motivation issue that people often say it is.
People often frame procrastination as a problem of ‘insufficient motivation’ or ‘insufficiently-focused motivation’. I guess we’re both familiar with that.
But what if the problem is that you have too much motivation? Or too many motivations?
In other words, let’s say you’re on a journey and your motivation is to travel eastwards. Yet, each day when you wake up, you find that you’re either 1) going in circles or 2) traveling northwards.
So, you conclude that you are procrastinating. And it’s a reasonable conclusion.
But what if what is actually going on is that in addition to being motivated to travel to the east; you are also motivated to travel to the west and also to the northwest?
Those other motivations are quite strong. But you have judged them to be unworthy and so you push them out of awareness. What happens to things that we push out of consciousness? Where do they go? You guessed it.
So, when, in the name of Discipline and Focus, we are consistently pushing our feelings, intentions, motivations, and emotions out of awareness; they continue to influence us and to guide our choices. The only difference is that they now do it from behind the scenes and seem very mysterious. (They’re not.)
One Solution:
Allow all of your motivations to be heard and to receive some attention. By hearing and recognizing them you invite them into the open and take ownership of them. This is true responsibility and discipline. (As opposed to ignoring, neglecting, and denying the parts of our minds and selves that do not match our preferred standards.)
When you listen respectfully to someone with whom you disagree, it is often still very possible to work fruitfully together. This is not only true for other people (interpersonally); it is also true for the various parts of ourselves (intra-personally). Sometimes bullying or forcefulness works. We can yell someone else or a part of ourselves into submission. Many times, however, it doesn’t work. In those cases, engagement and understanding can be the cure.
A Suggestion
Apply subliminals that help you to listen respectfully to the different parts of yourself. That help you to open up to the diverse range of your intrinsic, internal motivations. A person is not a simple unified being. We are assembled committees. For any goal that you have, there are parts of you who are not on board with it. And you know what? Those parts often have good reasons. But at the end of the day, it’s the part of you that is called “Executive Function” that gets to make the final choice. It is not all-powerful, but it has the burden and the privilege to weight all of the pros and cons and to choose a direction.
The better that it is at connecting to, listening to, and integrating all of the parts of you is the more effectively it will do its job.
Too Long Didn’t Read (this may seem quite odd):
You might try Alchemist. Or a similar program. Maybe Dragon Reborn.
These programs are about connecting with the various parts that comprise you, and they’re about integrating your being.
The more that your being is harmoniously integrated, the more that your intrinsic motivations and naturally-occurring impulses can be allies and not enemies.
(As that integration process develops more and more, you’ll find yourself getting increased benefits even from the programs that you were running ‘unsuccessfully’ in the past.)
That was really long. Sorry @MadaraUchiha, typing such a long post was not intentional. (It’s also because I’m on a deadline right now and it’s easier to just pour everything out in one go. Paradoxically, when I have more time, my posts tend to be shorter.)
