Climbing The Impossible Hill & Overcoming Procrastination More Easily

If you’re stressed out and feel emotionally bogged down, then you’ll benefit greatly from this millionaire wisdom on overcoming procrastination on your journey to success.

Here’s an ugly truth… everyone procrastinates.

Some people do it at work, others when it comes to picking up the phone and calling their siblings, and others procrastinate on filing their taxes or cleaning up the kitchen.

Procrastination is a familiar challenge for many. 

One that’s often mistaken for laziness or lack of motivation.

However, the truth is that it's more complex than that…

It's not that you’re unwilling to work or that you lack motivation. 

What Procrastination Really Is

Think about it…

If you had no will to work then procrastination wouldn’t be a problem. 

And if you had no motivation to do the work then you wouldn’t feel bad about not doing it.

Instead, procrastination is an emotional regulation problem. 

It’s your only tool for dealing with tasks that stir up negative feelings like stress, fear, overwhelm, frustration, anxiety, boredom, shame, and more.

How To Reframe Procrastination

Picture this…

Imagine the task you’re procrastinating on as a heavy backpack that you need to carry up a hill.

Procrastination is like sitting down, staring at the hill, feeling overwhelmed, scared, or bored.

The problem is not that you're too lazy to walk up the hill, nor that you lack the desire to reach the top.

The problem is the emotional weight of the backpack – the task – that brings up feelings like stress, fear, and frustration.

So, you sit down, not because you don't want to climb, but to temporarily escape these uncomfortable emotions.

In this scenario, the way to beat procrastination isn’t getting more “discipline” or more motivation. 

Because the heavy backpack will still be there dragging you down.

It's about developing new strategies to manage the emotional weight of your tasks.

Like finding the right way to carry your backpack or taking regular breaks during your climb, you need tools to handle the feelings that make you want to sit down and delay the task.

Practical Tools For Overcoming Procrastination

1. Break Tasks into Smaller Steps:
   Just like adjusting the load in your backpack, break down your tasks into smaller, more manageable steps.
2. Set Realistic Goals:
   Don’t aim to climb the hill in one go.
   Set achievable checkpoints along the way.
3. Understand Your Emotions:
   Acknowledge the feelings that lead to procrastination.
   Understanding why you feel overwhelmed or stressed can help you address these emotions more effectively.
4. Create a Supportive Environment:
   Just as a friend can make the climb easier, surround yourself with supportive people who can encourage you and help you stay on track.
5. Practice Mindfulness and Stress-Relief Techniques:
   Learn ways to manage your stress and emotions, like deep breathing or meditation, to make your 'climb' less daunting.

The best way to get started? Quit talking and start doing. –Walt Disney

Remember, it's not about forcing yourself up the hill with your heavy backpack…

It's about finding better ways to handle the weight, making the journey more doable and less overwhelming.

By managing your emotions and stress, you can start moving up the hill, one step at a time.

Conclusion: Overcoming Procrastination Smartly

The concept of procrastination is grossly misunderstood by most people, adding more weight to an already overburdened emotional state.

If you procrastinate, you don’t have to wear the badge of laziness or unwillingness.

Instead, it helps to understand the underlying emotional complexities behind the reason for your hesitation.

Rather than harshly focusing on seeking deeper discipline and motivation, shift your focus to practicing more practical and emotionally intelligent strategies to create a more supportive environment for an easier journey.

It’s about working smarter, not harder and you do this through using compassionate ways to manage your emotional landscape and thus, create a more fulfilling experience by choice. 

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Frequently Asked Questions About Overcoming Procrastination

Has your Mind ever wondered…

How does your body trigger a procrastination response?

Dopamine is released when your brain likes something, for instance when you’re feeling, experiencing or participating in something good.

When your brain feels good or likes something, you’re very likely to continue doing whatever releases this chemical.

So when you’re procrastinating, the reward is in NOT doing a specific thing because this feels better to your brain than doing that specific thing does.

What is the root of procrastination?

If you’re serious about overcoming procrastination, you’ll want to address the root of it which, in essence comes down to an emotional state of fear in various forms.

By staying fixated on unsupportive or negative thought habits, you keep yourself in a perpetual cycle of stress. 

This habit of rumination on feelings can become crippling, and can lead to procrastion.

How do I rewire my brain to stop procrastinating?

Because you are your habits, it helps to train your brain to think in ways that support you.

Here are 5 things you can practice that can be very effective habits to cultivate to help you on your journey to overcoming procrastination:

• Start by breaking tasks into smaller and more manageable steps to lighten the burden.
• Make sure to set realistic goals and remember to celebrate the achievement of each goal.
• Understand the emotional reasons behind your hesitance to take action so you can address the root cause.
• Create an environment that supports your goals by including supportive people who encourage and help you stay on track into your circle.
• Practice compassion towards yourself so you can manage the root cause of your reason for procrastination through deep breathing or meditation as this may help reduce the stress, fear and emotional load.

On your journey to overcoming procrastination, you’ll do yourself a service when you learn how to stop being afraid to say no to things that stress you out and yes to things that lighten the load.