Page 87 - End Procrastination Now Get it Done with a Proven Psychological Approach

Flex Your Emotional Muscle to Overcome Procrastination 55

Whatever the task or goal, the horse normally chooses what
it perceives to be the easier or less threatening path. It will gallop
to a field, linger by a brook, or head to the barn. The rider may
want to go that way. However, sometimes the horse’s impulses are
best reined in. You have a competitive analysis to do, and your job
depends on getting it done before a deadline. But the horse couldn’t
care less. It’s here that an enlightened rider seizes the opportunity
to take charge. Guiding the horse takes a special effort.
The difference between the horse running the show and the
rider guiding the action is great. So what happens when the goal
of the rider and the direction of the horse are different?
What is the rider’s decision?
Y-decision solutions normally represent simple choices. To get
and stay healthy, you eat healthy food, engage in physical exercise,
and deal with stressful situations quickly. You already have a sim-
ple solution to stop procrastinating, right? You just do it. However,
the simple solution isn’t that simple to do. When the horse has its
say, the plan can go astray.
A goal doesn’t trigger delay as much as what you make of it
and feel about it. Define a goal as too complicated, and you’ve intel-
lectually self-handicapped yourself. Tell yourself it is too tough,
and you’ve emotionally self-handicapped yourself.
Chipping away at procrastination involves applying what you
know in order to stay productively engaged in timely priorities
without handicapping yourself in the process. This can be a simple
thing to do. However, it bears repeating that simple is not neces-
sarily the same as easy.
The seventeenth-century Prussian General Carl von Clause-
witz observed that ivory-tower theorists can intellectually compli-
cate a simple strategy and bog themselves down with ineffectual
fears because of the uncertainties they create that convert into dif-
ficulties involving unforeseen possibilities. In von Clausewitz’s
view, it is wiser to forge ahead. See with your own eyes. Discover
the real complexities.