Procrastination is the enemy of all hopes and dreams. It’s based on fear and usually unfounded. Taking action is the enemy of procrastination. When you’re moving toward your goals it’s difficult for procrastination to take hold and keep you back.
It’s natural to procrastinate when you’re afraid. You may be afraid you’ll fail or perform less than expected, afraid because you don’t have the knowledge to perform, being uncomfortable or afraid to begin the success process.
There’s no doubt that fear of success causes you to procrastinate because you don’t feel you’re good enough and you’ve already put yourself in the failure category. But when you identify those fears and know them for what they are, you can overcome them with knowledge and common sense.
One you see those fears for what they are, you can eradicate them with information. You can also begin to take actions that will boost your self-confidence and help you meet goal after goal after goal.
Lack of motivation for the task at hand can contribute to procrastination. What you have to do may take much of your time. You may have to give up some of the things you enjoy - such as free Saturdays to play golf or shop.
You’re not alone if you suffer from lack of motivation. Everyone feels it from time to time. But if the lack of motivation is keeping you from the success you always envisioned and you procrastinate rather than beginning a task, it’s time to address what you really want to do and find out why you have no motivation for it.
Also, check your attitude about doing what it takes to be successful. If you’re not giving yourself positive vibes, you’re likely going to procrastinate because you’re just not into what it’s going to take.
Reevaluate your goals for success and the steps needed to get there. Maybe you need to tweak the goals or take a completely new path. If you feel you don’t have enough information or feel you don’t have the skills to succeed, you may procrastinate because you don’t want to fail.
Knowledge will get you over that hurdle. Some training in the skills you want to develop will add so much to your self-confidence level and alleviate the need to procrastinate. Fight fire with fire by learning how to perform tasks well and you won’t be tempted to delay actions.
You get a payoff for the procrastination because it acts as protection against failure. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to be successful. Although procrastination may prevent you from actual failure, not trying at all will leave you unfulfilled.
You’ll never know if you were good enough to learn something or complete a task because you never tried. That procrastination can haunt you forever and lead you to believe you’re not worthy of success.