The Secret Reason We Procrastinate – And How to Help Yourself Stop

It’s probably safe to assume we’ve all been guilty of procrastinating; whether it’s putting off something you don’t want to do—like a work assignment or home repair—or delaying something that’s not only good for you to do, but that you actually want to do—like going for a run or calling back a good friend. So why do we do it?

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A recent Psychology Today article gives one possible explanation, and it all has to do with free will. According to clinical psychologist Leon F. Seltzer, we all have an impulse to react negatively to outside influences that threaten our desire for control. Whether it’s due to pride, dignity or self-determination, when we know we have to do something, there’s something deep inside us that causes us to resist.

Seltzer goes on to say that this is the case even when there’s really nothing about the task, project, or assignment that we dislike or find intimidating. Here’s his example:

Say someone presents you with two ice cream cones—one chocolate, one vanilla. On your own, you’d choose chocolate over vanilla virtually every time. But if the individual holding out the two cones actually urges you to take the chocolate—maybe even coming uncomfortably close to shoving it in your face—it’s almost guaranteed that it will suddenly occur to you that you really haven’t had a vanilla cone in ages, and that maybe this would be the perfect time to reintroduce a little novelty in your life. After all, you’ve almost forgotten what vanilla ice cream tastes like since for so long you‘ve acted on your preference for chocolate.

And here are Dr. Seltzer’s two ways to resolve procrastination in your life:

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1. Become more conscious of why you’re feeling a need to hesitate or delay.
2. Remind yourself that undertaking the task in a timely fashion is really in your own best interests.

Essentially, understand that you’re choosing to do something not because of any outward coercion, but because it makes perfectly good sense to do it and it’s well within your capabilities and interests.

Curated Article from Psychology Today

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