Procrastination
"Maybe I'll do that later..."
Introduction
Defining Procrastination
Procrastination is a state of mind experienced when the desire to do something is met with the desire to not do it.
So, when one procrastinates, one can end up dwelling in the thoughts of doing an activity without actually doing it, and this can lead one to leave a lot of things undone and half-completed.
A procrastinator would often have the following thoughts:
"Ah, I'll do that later"
"Maybe I should do this first before I do that"
"Should I do it or shoudn't I?"
"Let me think about it..."
The state of Procrastination thus can be very stagnating, affecting one's ability to output actual work.
In this article, we will explore the ways to transform this state of mind so that one can do less unnecessary thinking in their minds to do more in their life.
Procrastination In Depth
Did you know Leonardo Da Vinci (the famed everything, i.e. painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, engineer, etc.) was well known for his tendency to procrastinate? If he hadn't, he would have left behind in this world even more of his masterpieces and less of his sketches detailing his unmanifested ideas.
If one can procrastinate less, one will be able to achieve more. So, it's important to address the causes as to why one procrastinates if one desires to be more productive!
But before one explores for the causes, let us first understand that the "act" of procrastination is neither good nor bad. How one wishes to live their life is one's choice. Maybe one prefers to think about their work rather than producing it. Maybe one prefers to work on things a bit here and here without the intention to complete it. Everyone has their own way of doing things. Perhaps Da Vinci was living the sort life he desired.
However, if we are talking about the "state of procrastination", then it is important to address it if one wishes for greater happiness. It's not a happy experience when the mind is constantly going against our desires to achieve!
And as one explores the cause as to why one cannot be in control of one's mind—i.e. why there is an Inner Resistance to do work, why one is stagnating rather than progressing—one will discover that the deeper cause of Inner Resistance is the Suffering States of mind, which are driving the experience of procrastination.
On short, to address the state of procrastination, one must explore their suffering states of the mind.
Path Of Creator
Procrastination In Relation To The Path Of Creator
Procrastination is like one of those experiences where The Self realizes just how little control they have over their mind.
How difficult it is to just start on a task and complete it when the mind is resisting against the idea?
When one lacks power over the mind, it's a sign that there are suffering states of mind in the background that is driving the experience. Thus the greater journey of addressing the issues of procrastination is to develop Self-Knowing: to know what is causing the mind to work against us than for us, to discover one's suffering states of mind.
The practice of meditation will help one greatly to discover the causes because when the mind is still, one will be able to see the Chaos and Unstillness that emerges from within clearer, and see what suffering states of the mind are driving one to procrastinate.
Some examples of how our suffering states of mind can make us procrastinate:
When one carries a lot of impatience, the mind will procrastinate when faced with a task that it believes will take a considerable amount of time to complete.
When one carries a lot of self-doubt, the mind will procrastinate when faced with a task that requires a lot of trust and self-confidence especially if the work would later be judged by others.
When one has issues of commitment and focus, the mind will procrastinate when faced with a task that is puzzling and complicated.
And the list goes on.
The mind resists because it does not want to experience the negativities that can be brought out from going towards what it rejects.
Thus the mind resists—procrastinates—because it wants to escape potential pain.
Usually, the mind would imagine the pain to be more than what it really is.
So, what one can do to begin their journey of addressing the issues they have with procrastination is to just force oneself to do the task one is procrastinating about as quickly as possible, not giving the mind enough time to think about it. Once the task is started, the mind will realize that it's actually not so bad.
But for some, this can be difficult to do. So, that is why the practice of meditation will be helpful as meditation will help one to learn how to Still the analytical and thinking mind, the fearing part of the mind. It will also help one to develop a focused mind so that one won't be so easily distracted by the persuasions of the mind to wander off and do something else.
By doing the things one is procrastinating is also a great way to develop Self-Knowing because in doing so, one will experience Inner Resistance, and by exploring it, one can find just what the Mind is really fearing about.
Actually, one can just work on transforming their suffering states of mind in general because the more one transforms them, for instance, by becoming more patient, more focused, more trusting, the mind will naturally have fewer reasons to go against The Self, which will naturally address the one's issues with procrastination!
The destination is to transform the suffering states of the mind so that the mind can work for us rather than against us. That is how one can wield the power of the mind to manifest all their desires and ideas into life rather than leaving them in their dreams.
Know and Transform The Self!
Reading articles helps with understanding, but to transform the mind, one realizes the truth from experience.
For such an enlightening journey, the Self-Transformation Course has everything you will ever need!
