Trick for procrastination (push vs pull) and asking for fields suggestion

For a long while, getting started on anything took such a long time, if I started at all :P I read books, I tried tricks people swear by, nothing was working. I got so fed up at one point that I sat down and decided to deconstruct the whole process to see if could understand my way out of procrastination.

Here’s what I realised (and it might be very obvious but it wasn’t for me):

The way we tend to function is to see the negatives in order to avoid them. Which might be prudent in some cases but is counter productive with many others, like everyday tasks: we focus on all we don’t like about it or that might go wrong. No shit it doesn’t entice us to start :stuck_out_tongue:

It means we have to use discipline to push ourselves to action instead of feeling pulled to act, the latter being far better. Plus all the time spent avoiding adds guilt and other negative feelings about ourselves, which makes it doubly daunting when we think about it. There’s all that baggage every time we consider doing something. And funny enough, once we start it’s usually never as bad as we made it out to be.

I thought, what if instead I took time to think about all the good things about it? For instance, how great I’ll feel once it’s done, the benefits it will bring to my life, what I do enjoy while I do it, etc.

So when I had something to do that I didn’t feel like doing, I spent a few minutes making a list of positive things about it. Sure, it takes time, but really not that much in the grand scheme of the Procrastination Universe.

What I noticed at first is it put me in a better mood and that I had some motivation to do whatever I had set my mind to. I didn’t dread it as much and the experience was more positive because of it. Overtime the dread was replaced with neutral to good feelings, making it far easier to start. Eventually, I felt more and more pull to do it. No discipline needed because there was nothing to push against! I actually felt like doing it.

On good days, I have no procrastination whatsoever and that feels wonderful. And on not so good days I can remember to make a list and add a line on it about all the good days I’ve had without procrastination :) Of course there are still days when I don’t remember to do it, but those are further and further apart :smiley:

When I discovered SapienMed I added Ego Dissolution and Unstoppable Will while making a list, it helps! I’d imagine Outlook Retainer would as well. Any suggestions of fields that would work well with this?

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Thank you i really needed this right now

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My pleasure! Going through a procrastination phase?

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I wish it was just a phase :joy:

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Oh yeah I feel you! It’s recent that it’s gotten better (am in a less good phase at the moment so I thought to write this to help hahah). We keep at it while trying to be kind to ourselves I guess? :laughing: :heart:

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man I’ve had no good day today procrastinated almost all day ): .

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Yeah that definitely happens. Have you noticed that what you do when you get up makes a difference in your day? I’m starting to notice this. If I go for a walk and meditate first thing, the rest of the day is more productive than when I don’t. Like it sets the tone or something.

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yea I noticed that too.
I do certain things and like that’s sorda how I feel for the rest of the day.
lately I think I’ve been doing to hard stuff.

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How do you mean?

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like uh I think stuff I’m doing is like making me anxious like that’s the tone it sets for me
also I mean like hard stuff like emotionally laborious stuff talking to someone is fun but like mediating is laborious. I hardly give myself any pleasure I’ve noticed so I’m try to give myself more pleasure if I can most days are pretty bad.

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Interesting trick.

Where I am, I think motivation is a bit (or a lot) overrated.

I’m not a perfect example, but I believe in “easy”consistency. When I start a new routine I just start the first day at 10%. It’s not real work, but having made the first step is motivating, it feels natural the next day. Then a little more the day that follows.

Then you give around 90% everyday so that you won’t get tired the next day and fast forward the magic of consistency will lift you up. It won’t even feel like a choice, you’ll do the work no if, no maybe.

After a while you’ll realize you have made progress, have optimized your habits and you can do more with less, it gets easier and you get motivation from the results.

I think it’s really important to focus on the task and not get bummed out by huge expectations or deadlines. That’s why I think motivation is often dangerous, people go too hard and then they give up.

Even doing a little “fake work” everyday is important to keep momentum.

Lol, not sure if it’s useful

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Oh yeah I get what you mean. I used to set myself impossible goals (still do sometimes) because I felt guilty for not doing more and got discouraged when I couldn’t finish it soon enough or well enough and that’s just all shades of unpleasant. I think the important thing is to do something that, while feeling natural, contributes positively to our outlook.

But yes doing thing that makes our heart sing is extremely important I discovered. That’s usually when we get more in touch with inspiration and going in a direction in life that makes us happy :smiley:

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It is! I so know this and have let this slide the last few days. Reading you is sort of drilling it in, thanks! :smiley:

Yeah as I mentioned before, I’m a hedonist so I’m a big fan of getting pulled rather than pushing (inspiration vs motivation/discipline). There used to be a time where I had energy to do everything I wanted so I didn’t have to think about being motivated. I know it’ll be like that again at one point but in the meantime it’s one foot in front of the other and learning to do that in love :smiley:

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Sounds like you’re in dire need of Ojas and new perspectives :+1:

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I wish! I really really want New Perspectives but can’t buy anything from gumroad as my card was blacklisted for reasons unknown and they won’t do anything about it: they say it’s my bank refusing the transactions but the bank assures me that it’s not them < shrugs >. Why they won’t take my money is beyond me :stuck_out_tongue:

But I doubt morphic fields will help, I’ve recently come to think it’s an issue with my beliefs. I was tired for so long that it’s deeply ingrained in my subconscious that I am tired. I get definite improvements overtime but I think I’ll do self-hypnosis to release that. Or maybe try Ego Dissolution and talking it out :thinking: OR DO SELF-HYPNOSIS TO EGO DISSOLUTION! Yes! Mouahhahhahahah! Hum…so maybe morphic fields can help! :smiley:

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HUH? is this a thing?

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Very very much so. I say it emphatically because it helped me tremendously. I even built an inner command center that is super slick looking and high tech where I can directly affect various body processes like increase dopamine, lower pain, etc. There are various ways to do this. I can send a few recommendations of books and CDs via PM if that is of interest to you :slight_smile:

It’s not as plug and play as morphic fields but well worth doing in my opinion!

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Your bank is 100% lying to you. Speak to someone who actually has the power to fix it.

Great trick.

Even better trick. (which was going to be it’s own “motivation post” but seems I’m never going to write it.) :stuck_out_tongue:

Tell yourself that you will spend just 1 min in the activity of difficulty. That’s it.
The natural goal setting/finishing ego mechanisms will kick in during that 1 min and one will find themselves working on that thing for quite a while.
In the rare case it doesn’t, No harm done.
You did your 1 minute on the thing. Move on and try again the next time for 5 mins.

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What do you base this on? :slight_smile: I did talk to someone who could fix it (after numerous phone calls and long wait times) and they are adamant that the transaction doesn’t even reach them, so there is no way they could block it.

It’s more at gumroad that I can’t talk to someone who can fix it. I keep getting cookie cutter replies from various representatives and when I tell them what my bank says, it’s just more cookie cutter replies that get me nowhere. Further evidence that it is on their end, I was able to once buy something after going into a private window and using a different email, then the card was blocked again.

I don’t see why my bank would be lying to me about this, they have no reason to. And I don’t think gumroad is lying per say, because they don’t have a phone number, I can’t talk to anyone that actually knows what’s going on.

I’ve never tried 1 min! I used to do what I called “guilt-free 5 minutes” when I had a lot of pain, where I’d start to do something and told myself that if after 5 minutes I wasn’t able to continue, it was completely fine to stop, no guilt. It worked remarkably well! I was able to tell if it was the fear or the actual pain that kept me from doing it :slight_smile:

I’d also venture that it’s rarely as bad as we make it in our heads and when we realise it, it’s easy to continue :smiley:

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@_OM I’ll make a new post about Gumroad or find an existing one (I searched the forum a while back and don’t remember if I came up with anything) so I won’t derail my own post hahah. Sorry for not thinking of it before writing :slight_smile:

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