The dictionary definition of procrastination is to ‘delay or postpone action’, from the Latin procrastinare, ‘defer till the morning’.
If we stuck to the original meaning, it really wouldn’t be a problem; we’d simply get on with everything that needed to be done in the morning. Unfortunately, the modern definition finds us procrastinating for months, even years, sometimes even never getting around to things.
So what lies at the bottom of procrastination? Why is it so common and widespread? What are we afraid of?
The truth is, many people find change hard. Change means unfamiliar, and unfamiliar, to our animal brain, means danger. Danger can mean death. Therefore, change equals death. I guess it’s pretty easy to understand fear of change if you look at it from that perspective. However, we are evolved, intelligent beings with the capacity for logical thought, so why do we allow those fears to control our actions? Why do people literally waste years of their lives living unhappy and unfulfilled lives? Because they are afraid of change, therefore danger, therefore death?
Well, in reality, people don’t even know what they are afraid of most of the time. They just know that change feels uncomfortable, and so they don’t do it. If only they could get to the bottom of this discomfort, perhaps change would be much easier to tackle.
So the next time you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself, ‘What are you really afraid of?’
Tags: afraid, change, fear, procrastination, secret
