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56 End Procrastination Now!

Without using the term procrastination, von Clausewitz de-
scribed how you can make a simple process seem complicated and
unimaginably difficult. This procrastination process cannot be ad-
dressed theoretically. You can develop a habit of advancing as a way
to habituate to uncertainties, discomfort, and the unexpected.
Atlanta, Georgia, artist and psychotherapist Edward Garcia
uses an intellectual and emotional view of complexity that partially
explains why change can prove surprisingly challenging. When
two views clash, the resolution may lean in the direction of avoid-
ance. Figure 3.1 describes a simple-easy conflict.
Let’s say that your goal is to register for a strategic planning
course on how to plan major projects. When you have a mental
and emotional consistency in favor of executing the plan, you are
likely to pursue it. Procrastination is not likely to be an issue. But
what if there is an inconsistency? You want to register, but you
routinely find reasons to put it off. Does that mean that you don’t
want to sharpen your strategic planning skills?
Although you’d like to gain the benefits, you believe that learn-
ing these skills will feel uncomfortable, you worry that others will
know more than you do, and you feel apprehensive when you think
that you could make a mistake and look foolish. So, you promise

FiGure 3.1
The Simple-Easy Conflict

Simple
Easy

Complex
Difficult