Paralyzing Procrastination -- What's It Teaching You?

We tend think of procrastination as a bad thing -- a lack of will power, determination, focus -- like it's some moral failing.

What if it were a signal to heed, or a lesson to be learned? What if we could take the negative spin off of this eddy in our energy flow and see if it has a productive purpose?

Physiologically, we all have what's called the alert or stress response. Typically it's known as the fight or flight response. But another component is present in all animals, including humans, when this alert system is triggered -- the freeze option.

Procrastination is a form of either flight from doing what needs to be done, or it's a type of mental, emotional, behavioral freeze designed to not attract attention,not put ourselves in danger, and not end up eaten by the predator that's stalking us. Either way, procrastination is a signal that some part of us perceives trouble -- real or imagined -- and is trying to act in its idea of our best interest.

Ask yourself how your procrastination is benefiting you. What's the trouble or danger you fear? Is it real? Is it bigger than the trouble you're creating by not taking direct action? What do you need to help you fight the fear?

Spiritually, procrastination might be viewed as a situation in which a guardian angel or some other helpful unseen being is holding us, preventing forward movement because we're headed in a direction that will take us out of alignment with our soul's needs or desires.

Consider for a moment how your paralyzing procrastination might be a safety net thrown around you by a watchful spirit whose job it is to keep you from wandering too far off your destined path. In what directions are you more free to move? What would this watchful spirit tell you, if you could hear or sense it speaking to you?

Do You Let Fear Stop You?

Fear is either a motivator, or killer. It pushes us into action, or paralyzes productive brain and body function. Which is it for you?

Both reactions to fear are normal, even instinctual. And in a sense, fear is good. It's a communication of potential danger that we all need to pay attention to.

BUT -- fear should also be a motivating prompt for changing your focus. Fear calls you to look at the situation from a different angle, and quickly determine a useful response, so that you can keep moving forward toward your goals.

Frantic, scattered, unfocused reactivity to fear kills achievement just as well as depressed, numbed, withdrawal into inaction.

So how can you NOT let fear stop you?

1. Acknowledge that you are feeling scared.
2. Name the deepest fear that's being touched, in the given situation.
3. Refocus away from the feeling back to what you know without a doubt that you can trust.
4. Ask yourself what can I do differently now to still get what I most need in this situation.
5. See in your mind's eye the steps you need to take.
6. Remind yourself that you will learn new skills or self-knowledge from this experience.
7. Cultivate an attitude of faith, hope, and belief -- faith that everything will turn out ok, hope that something better than you can imagine will occur, and belief in your own abilities to persevere.