For years I owned a New Age/metaphysical store in Greenwich Village, New York City, and I noticed that around December 20 the procrastinators came streaming out of the buses and subways and into my store in varying degrees of panic because they hase so much to buy and so little time.
This isn't my particular procrastination ritual. I buy my holiday gifts in August (in part, because I know I won't have time the week before Christmas), but procrastination itself is a ritual I know all too well - so much so that I procrastinated for days before sitting down to start this article.
Some forms of procrastination are probably universal. You know you have to call to make a dental appointment, but it strangely keeps on slipping your mind. You've got to tackle Mount Laundry, but you have so many other things to do, and the days just aren't long enough.
Other forms are common to those on a spiritual path. You really do want to meditate more often, but you keep on forgetting (or you never have any privacy, or you're too tired by the time you get to it, and you always fall asleep.)
You think it's really important to discover some of the beliefs which seem to be running you, but whenever you sit down to think about them you can't come up with anything. You are going to take yoga just as soon as you get over the cold you've had for six months. You want to mix up a mixture of Bach Flower Remedies, but what you need keeps on changing.
Although some things get done and some don't, during the interval of procrastination there is often much suffering.
It might be guilt: "This is the third day I haven't made that call; if I don't do it soon it'll be too late." (There's a touch of anxiety here, too).
It can be fear: "If I don't make that dental appointment all of my teeth are going to fall out."
Or it can simply be the perpetual nagging that you haven't done this thing, and you keep on thinking that you should, but you never get to it.
In short, procrastination wastes energy on all levels.
It also keeps you from being where you want to be. If having clean clothes, calling about a job interview, taking yoga, or self-examination are going to help you be happier, more at peace, more serene, procrastination doesn't advance this intention. It just keeps you stuck in the misery of wishing life were better for you.
Then why do we procrastinate? Because we believe that either the act of doing what we're avoiding doing or the results of doing it will be unpleasant. Contemplating the dental scenario anticipates pain; the call for a job interview may result in rejection; you might humiliate yourself trying to do yoga.
Sometimes (the job interview, for example) we put action off because it would initiate a cycle of change. Change takes us into the unknown, and contemplating the unknown can induce fear. It doesn't necessarily matter that the change could be for the better; for lots of people not changing is like sitting in a big old soft chair. The cushions are sagging and it's terrible for your posture, but you've gotten used to it, and it feels comfortable - even if you have to go to the chiropractor about once a month.
We don't get things done unless we consciously do them, and we don't do them unless we're motivated.
One form of motivation is to beat yourself up. You can ask yourself what kind of an idiot/baby/lazy, no-good, etc. would put off doing this very simple thing. This may get you moving, just because you'll get really tired of hearing yourself.
I prefer to excavate for the hidden reasons for my procrastination. For example, I put off installing a search engine on Beyond the Rainbow for several days. Finally I exercised some control over myself and sat myself down to think about why. I realized that I was sure it wouldn't work and I'd feel incredibly stupid and like the total failure I certainly was.
After I did this I had further realizations. I recognized that my image of myself is not as someone who does things like that. I write, I paint, I'm creative; I don't dirty my hands with programming (although the fairies didn't put up Beyond the Rainbow). If I succeeded I'd have to change how I thought about myself - and sometimes this is the biggest threat of all.
Once you've discovered your reasons for avoiding the tasks of goals you've set for yourself the next step is to create reasons for doing them.
When I'd brought all my reasons for avoiding working on the search engine I switched my focus to how great it was going to be to have it: it would make it easier for people to benefit from the site, it would save them time, etc.
Look at whatever you're avoiding. Once you call the dentist you won't have to think about calling to make the appointment any more. (You will, of course, have to think about the appointment itself; I've found that the best I can do with that is to tell myself that it will be over, that it won't kill me, and that my teeth and gums will be better for the experience.
You can reward yourself for each successful victory over procrastination by consciously experiencing relief. You can be proud of yourself. You can also reward yourself by saying that one such act makes the next one easier.
And it does. Procrastination, for all of its subtle causes, is also a habit, and habits are best broken by being replaced by more positive and consciously-chosen ones.
By the way, once I cleared up my issues about the search engine, I faced the coding, which turned out not to be nearly as inscrutable as I had dreaded. I successfully installed the program - and added to my affirmations the belief that life's tasks are easier than I think they are.
If you know you're procrastinating, but aren't sure why, and are ready for the painful truth, consider either lapis or obsidian. Lapis is the milder of the two choices (and this is a relative term). It is often used for bringing psychic debris to the surface. Obsidian, a sterner solution, is often known as the good friend who tells you the truth.
The energies of both these stones can be softened with any member of the quartz family: clear, rose, and smoky quartz or aventurine.
Carnelian can help to keep you grounded in the present, which will help you to keep your feet on the path of progress. Rutilated quartz is very helpful if you feel that you need a jump start.
Three FES flower essences have similar properties with regard to procrastination. I describe them here to explain the differences among them.
Cayenne is the floral equivalent of rutilated quartz. It's especially valuable when you feel stuck.
Tansy helps you to do what you know you need to do, and is especially helpful when your energy feels emotionally blocked.
Blackberry helps you to summon up the will to manifest your visions.
Hornbeam and Wild Rose are both Bach Flower Remedies. Hornbeam is best used to overcome temporary feelings lethargy (often described as the "Monday morning syndrome," which often goes away once you get involved in activity.
Wild Rose is for a much deeper lethargy, the "What difference does it make what I do?" syndrome. Use it if you feel
that you are stuck in resignation.
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