A vicious cycle that affects over 2 billion people around the world.

Procrastination is an art. The reason I call it an art is because we can get very creative with it. We can get so creative in fact that we build ourselves a trap and jump right into it.

I want to start off by asking you a simple question:

“ When do we usually procrastinate? “

Now the answer to this question is often times very clear. We procrastinate when we feel a lack of motivation…Right?

Wrong! Let me explain.

We don’t procrastinate because we feel a lack of motivation… We feel a lack of motivation because we procrastinate.

Now before you start rolling your eyes at me and think that I have no idea what I’m talking about, listen to me for a minute.

Let’s suppose that we procrastinate when we feel a lack of motivation. So you’re at your desk, trying to work on some stuff, and then your motivation starts fading away. When it does, you start feeling that there is something missing. You don’t feel the drive that you felt an hour ago to keep working on your tasks. So what do you do? Well, you procrastinate!

You get up, you go to your living room, and you start watching your favorite show. After a while, you start thinking about the work you should be doing instead laying on your couch and being unproductive. You start dwelling on your lack of productivity. You start thinking to yourself that you’re lazy, that you’re unmotivated, and that you can’t seem to do anything about it. The result? You feel lazy, unmotivated, and you can’t seem to do anything about it.

Now you know that you need to be working, but you don’t feel motivated to do so. At the same time, the more you procrastinate on it, the more stressful the situation becomes, and the more negative you start feeling.

The more you procrastinate, the more you lose your motivation.

This innocent escape that started as a simple break, turns into a loop of stress, excessive thinking, and guilt.

Even if go back to your desk to try and work, you’ll justify your inability to do so because you feel stressed and guilty. So what do you do? You procrastinate again. After a few hours, when you start feeling a hint of motivation restored, you go back to your desk only to realize that you need to sleep soon and there’s no way you can finish the task at hand before you sleep. So again, what do you do? You procrastinate.

That’s exactly why I referred to procrastination as a deadly trap. You trick yourself into building the trap, you push yourself into it, and then you wonder why your leg is stuck.

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On the flip side, let’s take another scenario. You were at your desk, working on the project, and then you started feeling a lack of motivation. However, you decided to keep working despite the lack of motivation until you get the job done. As you’re working, you finish the first task, you feel a bit inspired by this achievement. As you move forward, you finish another task, you feel happy and proud of yourself. You keep pushing and before you know it you’re done! Now you feel ecstatic, joyful and powerful.

Action generates momentum, momentum generates progress, progress generates optimism.

Now that you’re done, you can go to your living room and watch your favorite show for the rest of the day. Only this time, you don’t feel stressed, nor guilty. You get to enjoy your show knowing that you had a very productive day. At the end of it, you go to bed feeling happy and proud about yourself.

Now you can understand why:

We don’t procrastinate because we feel a lack of motivation… We feel a lack of motivation because we procrastinate.

So what do you do? Don’t set the trap in the first place. Even if you feel a lack of motivation, it doesn’t mean that your ability to take action is now hindered. You can still make a decision to take action, and to keep working. When you do, you’ll start generating momentum. This momentum will result in progress, and the progress will leave you feeling optimistic and motivated again.

Counter your lack of motivation with appropriate action instead of procrastination, and before you know it, action turns into progressive motivation.

Now, it’s time to put an end to the trap, and get to action.

If you want to learn more, click on the link below and go check out my exclusive procrastination training program:

https://www.udemy.com/course/the-procrastination-mastery-training-program/?couponCode=F9DFD2E56BE543A65333