Procrastination – gift or curse?

Procrastination – meaning you want to do something, but end up not doing it, but postponing it to another time. I’ll do that tomorrow. Or on Monday. Or anytime in the future, but just not now. So obviously, whatever you wanted to do, it didn’t get done. And by any means, that is something we would not judge as desirable, right?

Just recently, I stumbled over an article that, in a very gentle way, took another perspective on the topic, pointing out that we only procrastinate things we don’t like to do. Which made me think… Personally, I am not a procrastinating type, but there are things where I find myself procrastinating on the highest level: for example, when it comes to accounting. And I really don’t like accounting.

So in this case, the thesis was true, but just checking one activity I procrastinate is not a real research, right? Therefore, I went deeper, being very honest to myself. What else do I procrastinate in? And hands on the heart, I found what I was looking for: when it comes to doing things I feel uncomfortable with, I feel like I would like to procrastinate. For example, when something went wrong, even though it happened accidentally, the person I have to admit it to will be very angry or even lose control. Even though I would not procrastinate that call, I feel the desire to do so.

Understandable, right? Who wants to do things that feel uncomfortable? And then, it hit me. People do not only procrastinate things they don’t like or that make them feel uncomfortable, because up to this point, procrastination would help you. It would be an indicator of direction in your life. It would just help to understand which way is wrong for you.

The dark side of procrastination is when it comes to procrastination out of fear. Like a guy who meets this awesome girl, but is afraid to talk to her and misses his chance. Like the woman who did not start exercising because she was afraid she would fail. Or maybe like you, not reaching out for the stars because they seem so far away. The dark side of procrastination is, when we don’t follow our dreams, because we are scared. We are scared that they will not come true. This is why so many people never even get started.

But what can we do about it? First of all, you need to know that it’s our brain that tricks us. It shows us the beautiful last stage of reaching our goal, but it is – most of the time – completely out of reach. When you are in debts, and your goal is to be a millionaire, it is quite a way to go, right? If you dream of marriage, but you didn’t even say hello to the person you like, it is quite a way to go, right?

So what can you do to succeed? You can break your goal down into measurable steps. If you want to be a millionaire but are in debts, you need to learn how to get rid of the debt first. And at the same time, you learn how to manage your money, which once you are out of debts, helps you to create wealth.

If you want to get married, you need to get on a date first. So as a first step, learn to casually talk to people that interest you and get to know them. If they are still interesting and feel the same about you, then you can proceed to dating regularly, so you find out if this person is a real life match for you.

Why should you do that? Because you are be able to overview your progress. Because if you fail at one step, you just have to retake the one step and succeed in this one. Because you get to understand what is important and why. So in the example of the relationship, if that particular person was not for you, you have a better understanding of what you need and deserve in the next attempt.

One last word: whatever step you completed on your journey, be grateful. Even though the step was very small, it was a move forward. And if you think you failed in the first attempt, be wiser: you simply learned what did not work. Be grateful for the experience. Because it is just about reaching your goal, but about enjoying the way.

Read more about happiness – for example, click here to learn how even the worst situations in life can bring you happiness.