Page 63 - End Procrastination Now Get it Done with a Proven Psychological Approach

Defeat Procrastination Thinking 31

You think something else. You might be able to pull this off, but
you are doubtful. Instead of facing your insecurities about your abil-
ity to negotiate a price reduction, you tell yourself—and others—that
your boss is being unrealistic. The suppliers won’t budge on price.
So, based on that self-protective assumption, you drag your feet on
setting up meetings, make a halfhearted effort to negotiate, and
fulfill the prophecy. You reinforce your belief that your boss was
unrealistic.
Handicapping is common in organizational settings. You can
say that you could have done your work on schedule if you had had
better people, more money, active cooperation from superiors, and
more hours in the day. Office politics are distractions, as are com-
plaints that others have not done their part, or that you were thrown
off because you didn’t have the supplies in time, or that the com-
puter had glitches, or that the company consultants were messing
with the system. If you are in a position where you’d compete with
a more skilled player, might you handicap yourself by telling your-
self that you don’t stand a chance?
Why would a reasonable person consciously or subconsciously
seek ways to promote a decrease in productive performances
through self-handicapping? The usual suspects are social anxieties
and fears about disappointing others, disapproval (evaluation anx-
iety), image management, and expediency (going for a quick way
to avoid or shed tension).
The self-handicapping trap has an easily picked lock. If you
want to spring yourself, you might consider evoking the concept
of nonfailure and ask yourself the following questions:

• Which of your personal resources can you apply to take the first
step? Think about your thinking. Are you setting yourself up
to procrastinate by prejudging a situation as too tough, com-
plicated, unpleasant, or undoable? If so, introduce a change
into this thinking process. First, ask and answer what makes
the task too tough for you? Separate belief and assumption