What if procrastination isn't laziness, but a hidden fear that's holding you back?
Procrastination is often misunderstood. It’s not a lack of willpower – it’s your mind’s way of trying to avoid discomfort. Sometimes it’s a fear of failure or rejection – you procrastinate because you’re afraid that what you do won’t be good enough. But what you need to understand is that you are good enough, you always have been. You came into this world good enough, and you will be good enough for the rest of your long life.
Sometimes it’s the fear of success—anxiety about whether you’ll be able to maintain high standards once you’ve set them. Either way, your mind chooses pleasure over challenge, and you stay trapped in a cycle of procrastination.
Start by changing your thoughts and your words and the way you communicate with your mind.
Instead of saying, “I have to do this,” say, “I want to do this because it benefits me.”
Take the first step and don’t wait for inspiration. Inspiration doesn’t come by itself, but when you take the first step, it will join you.
Remember: procrastination is not a weakness – it’s a habit. And habits can be changed. The key is to understand why you procrastinate, change your mindset and perspective on things that need to be done, and take small but conscious steps forward.
Feel the power of change
RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy) helps you discover the reasons for your behavior, what the patterns and beliefs are, and then change them.
Your thoughts shape your behavior, and your behavior shapes your reality.
Your thoughts change your world.
Health and procrastination
While it most often impacts productivity, procrastination also has other serious health and well-being consequences. Research shows that it is linked to higher stress levels, poorer health, poorer coping strategies, poorer sleep quality, and a greater number of physical problems and illnesses.
One of the most comprehensive studies on this topic to date comes from Sweden. As part of the Sustainable University Life study, researchers followed 3,525 university students from Stockholm and Örebro over the course of a year. Using a standardized procrastination scale, they tracked their level of procrastination and its relationship to health.
After nine months, it was found that students who had higher levels of procrastination were:
- suffered more often from symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress
- had a higher incidence of pain in the upper extremities (arms, shoulders, back)
- reported poorer sleep quality, less exercise, more frequent skipping of breakfast
- were lonelier and had more financial difficulties
It’s important to note that these results were recorded even after the researchers took into account other possible factors (such as age, gender, previous mental health, etc.). In other words, procrastination itself was shown to be a risk factor for poorer health.
This study clearly states: Procrastinating today can have consequences tomorrow – not just for exams, deadlines and commitments, but also for your body, emotions and overall well-being (1).
Literature:
1. Johansson F, Rozental A, Edlund K, Côté P, Sundberg T, Onell C, Rudman A, Skillgate E. Associations Between Procrastination and Subsequent Health Outcomes Among University Students in Sweden. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Jan 3;6(1):e2249346.
