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54 End Procrastination Now!

discomfort-dodging urges and the motivation to produce and
thrive. Procrastination may be viewed as a battleground between
false threat signals that spur the horse, and the visions of a rational
rider to create, progress, and avoid longer-term threats that are
beyond the horse’s vision.
Part of an enlightened rider’s challenge is to recognize and
find ways to get past fictional threats and engage in productive
activities. Thus, when you catch yourself moving along an avoid-
ance path favored by horse instincts, and this doesn’t fit with pro-
ductive opportunities to prosper, an insightful rider may view the
struggle as an opportunity to gain a twofer result: building emo-
tional muscle through producing positive results.
Since the primitive brain is ordinarily a slow learner, patience
and persistence will ordinarily get you farther down a path than
routinely capitulating to the horse’s urges. Thus, when you face a
decision between lounging and crafting, this is an opportunity for
the rider to grab the reins. The more practice you have in grabbing
the reins, the easier it becomes to harness the horse’s considerable
energies and move in the direction of your goal.

The Y Decision. Not all horse and rider combinations are alike.
Some are more sensitive to tension: a twinkle of tension can cause
the horse to bolt and follow a path of procrastination, with the rider
going along with the galloping horse. Another rider may accept
discomfort as unavoidable and not a reason to retreat. There are
many variations in between these extremes. Nevertheless, the
horse and rider analogy suggests a never-ending struggle between
primitive emotional impulses and enlightened cognitive controls,
which points to a Y decision.
When you come to a branch in the road where your horse
wants to follow the path of least resistance, you face a Y decision.
You know that following through on your goals can be tough. But
you want the result. The Y choice is to follow through and be pro-
ductive, or to go a procrastination way.