Procrastination and Emotional Bulldozing | Subscriber Question

Procrastination and how willpower is often a subtle form of emotional bulldozing in disguise. Viwer question and answer below...
For Online Counselling, visit https://www.drdavidmaloney.com
Procrastination Video Course: https://www.drdavidmaloney.com/procrastination-course-101
Relationships Video Course: https://www.drdavidmaloney.com/relationshipsvideocourse

Question:
My willpower always lets me down
I can stick to a plan of action for a few days at a time. Then I always slide back. Once, I was even able to complete 30 days in a row. I was hoping that this would form a habit that would stick. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen, and I ended up going back to my old ways again. For me, this looks like inconsistency, frustration, and disappointment. Originally, I was having procrastination issues with study. But since finishing school, it has shown up in other areas of my life. Things that really should be fun for me (painting -which I was always good at, exercise etc) are now areas I struggle to stay consistent with. I know that in order to achieve any real progress or level of skill, I’ll need to stay consistent over time. But some days my motivation just isn’t there and I fail to take action. How can I become consistent and end this pattern of sliding back into old patterns after short-term success? - Anthony

Answer:
- Consistency is truly the king of all lasting change. But consistency iN what is the question?
- Are you consistently in the right mindset? This is all that matters. But how do you get into that mindset?
- You may notice that it’s your emotional state that ends up sabotaging you. This is where the issue can be solved.
- Pushing harder (and berating yourself) will accomplish nothing. This will only cultivate resentment towards the things in your life you should be enjoying and growing in.
- Set aside some time for each of your goals (e.g., 30 minutes for painting, 30 minutes for exercise). That is an intention you can set for yourself.
- If when the time starts, you feel fantastic, jump right into action.
- However, if you feel terrible, it’s time to do some inner work first.
- Do some writing about why you feel so stuck. Where are these negative thoughts coming from? Why does it seem so hard, overwhelming? Why am I even doing this at all? What am I trying to accomplish?
- In that time, you are only permitted to take action if you can get to the point where you feel positive and encouraged about taking action.
- Remember, 5-minutes of action taken with the right mindset is better than 30 minutes with the wrong mindset.
- This way, you’ll be cultivating a healthy, compassionate, encouraging mindset CONSISTENTLY.
- Your emotional stability will become consistent. This was always the real issue!
- If you commit to this, your mindset will be corrected and consistent action cannot but follow.
- You may be reluctant to try this approach as it focuses primarily on mindset rather than action. However, if you give it a try, you’ll learn than not only will the amount of action you take increase, but the quality and enjoyment of that action will increase. And when I say increase, I mean dramatically!
Thanks for watching. If you enjoy my content, remember to like and subscribe for more.

Dr. David Maloney is a Psychologist and therapist. His has trained in a variety of techniques (person-centered, Gestalt, ACIM, psychodynamic) and works with people on a wide variety of issues. His main areas of expertise are in self-esteem, motivation, and relationships.