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Whether or not we’re aware of it, there are two wars raging inside each one of us: Taking Action vs. Procrastinating.
When we take action on our dreams and goals it moves us forward in life. Action creates ripples that produces feedback, which is critical in understanding if we are on the right track or the wrong track. That feedback enable us to pivot, to make course corrections. Action fosters happiness. It reduces stress – stress that is the byproduct of not doing the things we know we should be doing in life.
Procrastination is the opposite of action. Delayed action prevents us from moving forward. It is one of the reasons so many feel stuck in life.
Procrastination is driven by dread and fear. We dread taking action because of the fear of pain. The pain is the imagined physical or mental effort it will take to complete the task or goal. It is also the consequences of taking action, since all action creates ripples of feedback. Sometimes that feedback is good, sometimes bad. We fear negative feedback.
But even negative feedback is good. It tells us if we are on the right path. The pain of taking action, in our minds, outweighs the pain of not taking action, in the short-term. So we distract ourselves by doing other things that are not so demanding, not so painful.
But our subconscious, our old brain, never lets us forget that we have an uncompleted task. It constantly nags us and reminds us about the uncompleted task. The subconscious intuitively knows that completing that task is important in helping to improve our lives and that procrastinating on the task will only have negative consequences, damaging our life. The brain nudges us to take action by creating stress. A stress that grow each day, until we take action. Stress creates a state of unhappiness, so procrastination is one of the contributors to feeling unhappy.
You are the commander in chief of this war raging inside you. Take command of your forces. Take action. You can only win the war by taking action on your goals and dreams. Overcome your fear and dread and charge forward.
