Note: This article is from blogger Johanna Bogart, who shares her personal experience with procrastination.
I can blame myself negatively when I am lazy, and when I describe myself as lazy, it makes me even more lazy, and this is exactly what happens with my clients. Therefore, the first step to overcoming procrastination was to know that the obstacle that prevented me from working was not laziness or procrastination; It was anxiety.
There's a specific way anxiety keeps my clients and me from moving forward at work, and it's the Catch-22.
Catch-22 Concept of Anxiety
Let me give you some examples from my personal experience to explain how it works:
One day, I drove to work worried that I would be 5 minutes late, and at the same time, I was worried that I would get to my job before my favorite 3-minute song on the radio was finished. I put myself in a position where I will not be satisfied, whatever the outcome.
One of my clients was worried about getting into a relationship with someone in France because she would only be there during the summer, and she was afraid at the same time because she would not meet someone special in France even though she had been there all summer. I also have a client who was worried because he would never discover his life's purpose, while he was afraid of finding a purpose because it would force him to change his life.
Anxiety is like a swing we cannot balance in it, and we think that every movement will lead to our downfall. We procrastinate in making decisions. No one wants to take a step forward if we think that it will lead to our failure. It is not the situations we face that cause us stress; rather, it is the way we worry about these situations.
Turning loss into profit
In the example I mentioned about one of my clients, her problem is not that she will live in France only during the summer period, but the anxiety that tells her that if she moves to France, she will be alone forever or her heart will be broken. In both cases, this situation can be profitable. My client may find the right partner in France, or she will have many experiences and then have to leave. As for the other client, he will stay within his comfort zone or discover a good goal that will change his life.
If you use the Catch-22 model like the above examples, stop worrying and try to think the opposite way. You can win the situation.
The Catch-22 form appears in the following cases
- Switch jobs.
- Moving from one city to another.
- Commitment to a relationship.
If you are considering leaving a job you like for a job that will be better on your CV, look for the positive side, as you may continue to work at what you love or move up. Suppose you have to live in a city where you found a good job opportunity but find it difficult to move away from the family. In that case, you may cling to that job opportunity or stay next to your family.
Finally, if you want to marry the person you love, but you find it difficult to commit, know that you have found a partner who makes you desire the most difficult thing you face, which is commitment, and this in itself is wonderful.
Observe how you would feel if you considered what you gain from both options. If your feelings of anxiety increase rather than decrease, what you lose may not be the real problem.
Here's what could happen
- You are afraid that you will not be able to handle the good things that you will encounter in life.
- You want to feel comfortable with another person, so you focus on the mistakes to get help.
- Justify to yourself why you didn't do what you wanted.
- You have to be ready and eliminate all the difficulties to make your move.
The idea of winning either way reduces risk and allows you to feel excited about your future.
In conclusion
When you allow yourself to see the positive in every choice, you allow yourself to imagine your ideal future fully, and the feeling of excitement that comes with thinking about your potential will allow you to know what you want.
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