We have already described certain important aspects of procrastination in Post WALK, DO NOT PROCRASTINE, DO IT NOW, and in this post we will try to address this problem, which a significant percentage of the population suffers from.
PROCRASTINATION, according to its classic definition, is the result of delaying or postponing the performance of an action, or failing to perform an activity by postponing it for another day, week, month or year. Two characteristics are common to all procrastination and if they were not present, we would not find ourselves in a representative case. One of them is that it invariably provokes “feelings of guilt” in the procrastinating subject; the other is that a different activity is generally performed instead of the one that should be performed; in other words, we will find ourselves in a case of procrastination, if every time an activity should be performed it is postponed and gladly exchanged for another, and also provokes a “feeling bad” for not having performed it at the moment when we are aware of it. These 2 characteristics are fundamental to take into account when dealing with the problem of procrastination and its link with bad habits.
Many specialists use to point out the different types of procrastination according to the different ways in which the human being can procrastinate, and invariably they do it according to their knowledge, experience and criteria. These categories or classifications are carried out taking into account the different elements that intervene or are related to procrastination itself: according to the time of procrastination; the fear of incurring in faults for carrying out certain activities; personality problems. I am convinced that it is convenient to make a typology, but to do it from the point of view of facing the causes of its generation; that is to say, as we have commented, procrastination is a symptom that results from bad habits and also from negative emotions, or from a combination of these two sources (Post WALK, DO NOT PROCRASTINE, DO IT NOW). Using these 2 strands of causality, we will focus our efforts, using the WALK-RWD system, which we have already successfully tested, to eliminate both bad habits and negative emotions, and thus address the wide variety of cases of procrastination that are commonly incurred (Post COMBATING SOME ENEMIES WITH THE WALK-RWD: OBESITY).
Thus, procrastination can be a symptomatological behavior of one or several bad habits or negative emotions. In this post procrastination will be analyzed and addressed as a negative habit, so we will propose concrete solutions using the WALK-RWD system to eliminate procrastination generated by bad habits. The procedure to eliminate it as a causal manifestation coming from negative emotions will be presented in the future post PROCRASTINATION AND THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AGAINST NEGATIVE EMOTIONS. I have decided to present the procedures for both aspects independently because habits and emotions are treated differently.
Now, let us keep in mind that every habit is the result of an unsatisfied need; that is, within every habit in us there is an “inner need” (at least), which we must attend to. Generally, all of them – the needs – manifest themselves, directly or indirectly, in a symptom or external effect.
If we attend to the “inner need” that we manifest, we will be able to disappear the habit that has been formed. It is relatively difficult to identify that correlation between Need and Habit, or sometimes we do not even want to identify it. However, it is essential to find that link in order to meet that need and thus “break” the negative habit.
In other words, we must become aware that we have a problem with ourselves. This is the first step we must take.
Once we are already aware of it, through a conscious and sincere knowledge, that we have a negative habit or an addiction, the next step will be that we manifest openly and really that we want to change our attitude, in that sense of not postponing our commitments with ourselves or with other people, in that way we can move on to the application of the WALK-RWD system, which in this case will be as we proposed in the posts: THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AND THE HABITS, NEGATIVE HABITS AND HOW TO COMBAT THEM-GENERAL CASES, and COMBATING SOME ENEMIES WITH THE WALK-RWD: OBESITY.
Procrastination is not a decision making problem, it is not a time management issue, it is not abulia, it is not laziness, it is not cowardice, it is not an inability, it is not a lack of interest; it is all this as an effect of a problem of bad habits. Therefore, we must focus on breaking bad habits (Post NEGATIVE HABITS AND HOW TO COMBAT THEM-GENERAL CASES).
Let’s start from the fact that the individual who procrastinates must lead himself to a better management of his bad habits.
The procedure to combat bad habits has been presented in a general way in the 3 posts mentioned above, however, I will proceed to describe briefly the most outstanding aspects that I have exposed in those posts to combat them.
There is no doubt that the will and discipline required to carry out this type of practices are difficult to achieve, because not all of us have that ability, and it is certainly more difficult than we can imagine. We will have to dedicate at least one hour a day to maintain a balanced state of health.
In any case of procrastination there is an endless circle of 1) Postponing the Activity (PA), 2) Performing another more Attractive Activity-Satisfaction (PAAS), 3) Feelings of Guilt and Frustration (FGF), and 4) Creating a Bad Habit (CBH); is a four-link chain that always leads to procrastination, and procrastination leads to depression and anxiety, which in turn leads to more neurosis; however, we can modify it if we introduce the “walking, reading, writing and drawing” link.
Indeed, this Vicious Circle is fed back by the neurosis itself, which provokes in the individual different neurotic states, which rest on the Inner Need, which takes different specific forms of behavior and attitude towards the apparent reality, Idea of Idealistic Perfectionism (IIP), being Superior to Others (SO), Egolatry (EL), having a Superior Power (SP), Egocentrism (EC), Dominating Others (DO), Narcissism (N), a number of neurotic states that invariably lead to depression and anxiety, which in turn translates into bad habits and permanent procrastination. As can be observed, this Inner Need is, in general, a mental-psychological need that has degenerated into neurosis, obsession, paranoia, psychosis, or any other mania or neuropathy.
That Inner Need -specific- that “seeks to satisfy” the individual suffering from neurosis -or any other neuropathy-, cannot be easily achieved in reality, and it is demonstrated that behind a condition of neurosis all those states are fed back by the same neurosis, which makes them unattainable and strengthens its own degrading force, a subconscious force that drives the individual -as a pretext- not to do anything, it is a pretext that allows him to deceive himself, and that places him outside of reality.
The Inner Need generates, by erroneously channeling the efforts, an apparent Idealistic Perfectionism (IIP), Superior to Others (SO), (EL), (SP), (EC), (DO), (N), ETC., which permanently “moves and paralyzes” the procrastinating individual.
These endless circles or Vicious Circles can be broken with an external stimulus, creating a new action or activity within the usual chain of events of the procrastination habit. In this way we can move, in a healthy way, the person away from the vicious circle of the procrastination habit.
Undoubtedly, this type of habits are complicated and quite confusing that deeply and daily disturb the individual who suffers from it; however, we can always define an activity that is a “switch” that prevents and disconnects the chaining, modifying it to redirect it towards tasks that benefit physically and mentally -psychologically- the individual. In our case, the “switch” is the integral system “walking, reading, writing and drawing” that we can use at any time to face procrastination, which is creating negative situations and attitudes -conscious or unconscious- in our being.
We must point out that, in general, the activities of the WALK-RWD system are not linkable with those that are procrastinated, i.e., the daily postponement of the activity of “keeping the kitchen area clean” has no practical linking relationship with walking, reading, writing or drawing.
Invariably we will have to analyze the specific chain to determine the “Inner Need”, which in turn will make it easier to identify the point in the chain on which we should implement the system as a “switch” to it.
It goes without saying that from the analysis of each case and its evaluation, will depend on the location of the point where we will have to place the “switch” to obtain the most immediate and positive results. With the certainty that if it is not the appropriate point, it will not cause any additional problem in the behavior of the person who is carrying it out and we will be able to remodel it more conveniently, looking for another node for the application of the WALK-RWD system.
In general the system works in such a way that the “Inner Need” is eradicated in an unconscious way, however, it is almost certain that the appearance of this need is recurrent and recovers its psychological dissatisfaction, so we will have to be attentive to apply the WALK-RWD system again, in the same point of the chain or perhaps it has modified its original structure with which we were applying the system, and again we have to analyze and evaluate the new psycho-dependent chain.
Let us keep in mind that by walking (WALK-RWD System) we can leave behind any type of Vicious Circle, and concretely the psycho-dependent one of Procrastination.
As we have already pointed out, there are innumerable negative emotional enemies and unpleasant habits that govern our existence on a daily basis.
The following process will guide us more specifically in combating procrastination, which I have conformed into 3 phases for its control and correction.
PHASES X, Y and Z to address bad habits and procrastination.
With the purpose of having clarity in the process that we must carry out to eradicate procrastination, next we expose the 3 phases of the procedure that the WALK-RWD system contemplates.
PHASE X.-IDENTIFICATION of bad habit (or several) and CORRELATION of the Inner Need with the Habit.
First of all we need to desire to change our attitude or desire to feel good about ourselves. Just coming to truly desire is a very important step in this process.
The WALK-RWD system allows us to combat all cases of bad habits through a general method. However, each habit has its special characteristics, so it is indispensable to identify and characterize it. For each one of the negative habits the WALK-RWD system leads us in a special way to present a specific front to combat them. To identify the bad habit it is necessary to first determine its correlation with the Inner Need that generates it. To get to correlate it we must resort to the procedure defined in Post NEGATIVE HABITS AND HOW TO COMBAT THEM-GENERAL CASES, where we review as an example the Vicious Circle in eating habits, and we recommend detecting that Inner Need in the area of insecurity, scarcity, deprivation, anxiety, dependence, emotional imbalance, hesitation in decision making, irresponsibility, self-doubt, etc.
Once we have completed this phase (identification and correlation) we can move on to the next phase.
PHASE Y.-CORRECTIVE PROCESS OF THE BAD HABIT (OR SEVERAL).
Once we carry out phase X, fulfilling the 2 steps indicated (identification and correlation), we will pass to phase Y which is the corrective process of the bad habit, applying the WALK-RWD system as we exposed it in the 3 posts previously indicated (posts: THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AND THE HABITS, NEGATIVE HABITS AND HOW TO COMBAT THEM. GENERAL CASES, and COMBATING SOME ENEMIES WITH THE WALK-RWD: OBESITY).
PHASE Z.-AVOIDING AND CONFRONTING PROCRASTINATION.
In parallel to phase Y, we must apply phase Z, a positive attitude, which consists of subtracting ourselves from the apathy of not wanting to do anything or postpone everything, trying to perform certain small actions tending to banish the procrastinator being at 100 percent, that we bring inside. Let us perform any action (task or activity) that is inconsequential, but that has some relation -small at least- with the activity we have been procrastinating. This will work in two directions or courses of behavior. During the first course of behavior, the mind and the body will surely start sending messages against this positive attitude (signals of abulia, tiredness, listlessness, etc.), which will be nothing but more procrastination, which will have the function of keeping us delaying and postponing any kind of positive action we have undertaken to carry out our tasks. This negative state will try to boycott us from our interiority to prevent us from developing that minimal or insignificant action (task or activity). At this moment we will begin to realize the great variety of resources used by that SPECIMEN of procrastination nested within ourselves; let’s write down all those boycotts and analyze them one by one, in order to counteract them in an effective and conscious way. To do this, the best way is to always develop an insignificant action in parallel, keeping us active even minimally towards the achievement of our productive tasks that we have procrastinated. Let us keep in mind that this phase takes place in concordance and feedback with the Y phase. That is to say, even if we have detected and corrected the negative habit(s), when we are in this phase Z, we will have to feed back the previous phase Y.
The other behavioral sense in which this minimal action of ours will work is that we will have an extraordinary result. Besides starting to destroy the habit -or the addiction-, it is very probable that this corrective dynamic, taken to its happy conclusion, can provoke the disappearance of the primordial causes of our neurosis or of any other psychological ailment that we have and that is the cause of the habit (or addiction) that we are attending in this process, using phases Y and Z. I emphasize, this can be achieved if we fight the procrastinator that we bring inside, until eradicating it, when we may have also defeated in parallel its “neurotic brother”, which surely also nests in us.
The realization of all this process is facilitated by applying the WALK-RWD system because it is motivational by itself, it induces us to go ahead with optimism and immediately teaches us to carry out activities with enthusiasm.
Taking as a guideline this 3-phase process and the points on the eradication of vicious circles of bad habits, I present a concrete case of procrastination, of daily and generalized course, which will serve us as a model to solve practically all the situations of procrastination that arise.
Case to solve: KEEPING THE BEDROOM FIXED.
Once we have completed phase X, identification and characterization of the bad habit (Inner Need), we can continue with the correction of the bad habit.
Applying the WALK-RWD system as we exposed it in the case of obesity (Post COMBATING SOME ENEMIES WITH THE WALK-RWD: OBESITY), we can eliminate it by substituting it for any of the combinations of the structured activities within the system.
This case is divided into several parts according to the furniture that make up a bedroom, therefore, it should be analyzed according to those elements or lots:
1. Closets: rearrange and clean them.
2. Beds: change their sheets and remake them.
3. Chests of drawers: rearrange and shake them.
4. Lift and arrange the untidy clothes.
Let’s start the process by taking as a concrete example the last one, number 4, which we have designated as Specific Activity: “Lift and arrange the untidy clothes”, to place them in the appropriate drawers provided for this purpose, and hang some of them in the closets. The solution of this case will be equally usable for the other 3 previous to this one. In order to lift and arrange the clothes, we decide to start washing the dirty clothes and thus apparently we are satisfied because we are doing an activity (Substitute Activity) as important -supposedly- as lifting and arranging the clothes and we will also think that washing is prior to arranging; however, we are convinced that we do it because it is more attractive to us, we do it with pleasure, and therefore we can satisfactorily postpone the other one. The reality is that we do not want to do that activity number 4, for some emotional, neurotic, etc. cause, which we have already identified as an Inner Need. After having procrastinated the Specific Activity and washed the clothes (Substitute Activity), feelings of recrimination and frustration begin, simply because we have postponed the arrangement of clothes for many months and they are scattered all over the bedroom.
In the first scheme, we can see that nodes 2 and 3 feed back on each other (Vicious Circle of Procrastination), and always do so indefinitely, so the person never gets to perform the activity he/she procrastinates.
We must break this reluctant and eternal vicious circle.
The performance of a Substitute Activity becomes a “co-habit” that complements the procrastinating habit of the Specific Activity, either as a repetitive act with the same specific activity or with another one, which we will have to extirpate, by means of the WALK-RWD system (Phases Y and Z). When we are in the proximity of the exchange of the fundamental activity to be performed by the Substitute, let’s go for a walk and initiate the application of the WALK-RWD system as we indicated in Post COMBATING SOME ENEMIES WITH THE WALK-RWD: OBESITY, which will allow us to eradicate the Substitute Activity and likewise any type of habit, and later we can voluntarily and with pleasure, fix the bedroom.
Finally we will eliminate Procrastination.
The release of energy walking, which is transmitted to the brain, will provoke the procrastinator inner subject that we bring inside, a compulsion that will place us in the bedroom to start its arrangement, that we will have destined our energies to eliminate the negative habit.
In order to achieve this reaction of the unconscious in communication with the neurotic conscious it was necessary to identify and become aware of the negative habit (in this case a substitute) to eliminate it from our behavior, and with a positive attitude put into practice the WALK-RWD system in order to directly combat the procrastinator subject that nests within us, by eliminating its customary ally of the negative habit, a process that must be permanent and repetitive, until it is eradicated.
Any procrastinator attitude can be eradicated by following the steps and process outlined above.
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