Procrastination – Pain or pleasure?

By Nil Pozcu - Clinical Hypnotherapist

It may not be a surprise to you that people will do more to avoid pain than they will to feel pleasure. If something has perceived pain around it then motivation to get that task done will drop significantly. Think about it for a moment, is there something that you’ve been procrastinating about recently? Is it to go out and do some exercise? Is to start cooking and eating healthy food? Is it to clean out or de-junk the spare room or another room in your house? Is it to apply for a new job? Is it to sign up for that course or workshop? Whatever it may be, take a few minutes and ask your self the following questions around it.

How long have you been putting it off? Is it weeks? Months? Years?

What pain have you linked to taking this action? It could be hard work, too much effort, loss of leisure time, boring, too much energy needed, too much organization & planning needed, putting self out of comfort zone, fear of rejection, too hard or whatever other meaning you may have attached.

What are the benefits of not doing the action? It could be a sense of comfort and familiarity, more social time with friends & family, more time to watch TV or play on the computer, or it could be to keep your self safe away from the fear of failure or the unknown.

What price will you pay if you don’t act? Could it be frustration, wasted energy thinking about it, being unhealthy, slow, sluggish, feeling a lack of control, dissatisfied, annoyed with self, bored, de-motivated, cluttered or stressed?

What are the benefits of you acting? It could be getting fit, feeling healthy and energized, losing weight, feeling good, feeling more attractive, feeling a sense of accomplishment, increased creativity, better functioning body & mind, having more confidence, creating a calm and clear space in your home, clearing your mind of clutter, being proud of your home, feeling more organized and productive, opening the doors to finding a more satisfying and/or better paid job, having more quality time with your family, feeling more in control, feeling more challenged and stimulated, excitement about new paths and opportunities, learning new skills or meeting new people.

How long will you stay in this holding pattern of not acting?

What will your life be like in 3 months time if you stay in this holding pattern?

What about in 3 years time?

What about if things stay the same in this area for the next 10 years?

How will you feel about yourself? What will your life look like? What will you tell yourself?

What if you choose to step up right now?

If you act now, what will your life be like in 3 months? What will it look like and feel like?

What about in 3 years time, what will be different?

How will things look like in 10 years time? How will you feel about yourself? What will you tell yourself? What will others be saying?

How do you feel about this task now?

This exercise illustrates that it’s rarely what we want to do that is the problem and that actually all we need is a compelling enough reason to want to do it.

This will work best if you can really take the time to think about and use your imagination with these answers so if you are at work or somewhere that’s distracting it might be worth revisiting this when you have some quiet time to yourself.

Sydney-based Clinical Hypnotherapist Nil Pozcu is a regular contributor to the celebrated ‘Natural Health Booster’ fortnightly ezine with 1,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to optimise your health, wellbeing and fertility, get your FREE tips now at www.boostyourhealthnow.com or www.boostyourfertilitynow.com.

Nil has private consultations available, to make an appointment please phone us on 1300 85 84 90.

Keywords: Hypnosis > Hypnotherapy > Procrastination