The Real Reason You Procrastinate and How to Stop Procrastinating for Good!
Welcome back ...
I'm Kam Knight, and I help people just like you sharpen your mind and remove the self-sabotaging behaviors and emotions that keep you from enjoying even more success.
And in this guide, I'm going to reveal the secret behind your procrastination & self-sabotage.
Though know...
Your mind and body are EXTREMELY complex
That means, there are complex reasons why you procrastinate or are not able to do things.
And it's important to understand this complexity.
If the fix were simple, you would've come across it already, and already be using it.
Since you haven't or aren't, means there is more going on than what traditional self-help and personal development have led you to believe.
But...
Not to worry
I'll still offer a simple solution that can create the progress you're seeking.
It's one of the easiest tools I've found to create massive shifts in your life.
That means taking more action and having more success, especially in the moments you least feel like it.
To start, let's first look at....
What Causes Procrastination?
The part of your brain that creates wants and desires works separately and independent from the part that allows you to act on those desires.
So, you have one part of your brain that creates wants.
And a completely different part that allows you to act on them.
So, it's possible for your brain to BOTH create a desire for something, and at the same time, keep you from going after it.
And...
That's what procrastination and self-sabotage really are!
They are a part of your brain NOT giving the green light to do something.
Interestingly enough, BOTH parts can get in your way!
The part that creates wants can get in the way, as well as the part that holds you back.
And in this guide, you'll learn how both your wants and resistance get in your way.
1. Wants
Let's first start with your wants.
It's hard to imagine, but many of your challenges in life actually come from your wants.
That’s right!
Your challenge to doing what you want comes from the want itself!
That's because...
The part of your brain that creates wants and desires
Is completely unrestrained.
It’s creating endless wants one after another.
The only job of this part of the brain, which I call the wanting mechanism, is to create wants.
And it's cranking out endless wants and desires - day in and day out - at a pace faster than you can achieve.
You can think of your wanting mechanism like a simple on-off switch
It gets flipped based on certain cues:
- It sees a new pair of shoes, and wants it
- The latest iPhone comes out, it wants that too
- Someone attractive walks by, and it wants that as well
This switch creates so many wants in a single day
You don't have the time or energy to achieve in a lifetime.
Even if you lived multiple lives, you couldn't achieve all the wants your brain is producing.
Let alone enjoy them.
That’s because...
Your wanting mechanism DOESN'T understand
Your time, energy, and resources are limited.
It simply creates wants.
Nor does it check to see if your want is achievable.
It simply creates wants.
Even while you’re working on one want, your mechanism is creating other wants to chase.
The wanting mechanism is the reason:
- You buy stuff you DON'T need
- You crave things that AREN'T fulfilling
- And the reason people cheat when they’re already in a relationship
It’s also the reason why it’s so hard to do the work.
This mechanism pulls you in so many directions, it’s difficult to stick with any one.
Though...
This is just ONE challenge of your wants
There are many other challenges the wanting mechanism creates - too many to go over in a single guide.
What's important to know is your own wants can be the very thing that keeps you procrastinating and sabotaging them.
So, this is one way procrastination and self-sabotage show up - from your wants.
Another way is...
2. Resistance
As you learned...
The part of your brain that creates wants works separately from the part that actually allows you to act on that want.
So, anytime you have a want or desire, that desire is reviewed by this other part of the brain, which I call resistance.
Resistance looks at the want to decide if it's worth going after and pursuing.
And if resistance decides not to give the green light, you can't act!
Now...
Resistance looks at many criteria to decide whether to let you do something or not
To understand how this works, it helps to think about standing before a panel of judges or board of directors.
Every decision that comes up must go through them.
If even one of the members is against the idea, it won’t pass.
So, each member is like a criteria your resistance evaluates to decide if you should do it.
One of the criteria involves identity
That is, your mind will make it easier to do something if it is in line with your identity, and more difficult, if it goes against your identity.
So, if you have an identity of being a writer, resistance will make it easier to write.
If your identity is I’m a speaker, resistance will make it easier to present and speak.
If your identity is not aligned with writing or speaking, resistance will make it difficult to do both.
No matter how much you want to, you can't.
To illustrate...
A good friend growing up had an identity of being athletic
As a result it was easy for him to work out, exercise, and even eat well.
Unfortunately, that identity was not in line with being studious.
So, he had a difficult time studying.
No matter how much he tried or wanted to study and get good grades, he couldn't.
Resistance made it difficult for him, always pulling him away with things that aligned with his identity, like sports.
It's hard to imagine, but your own brain can hold you back from doing something and making progress.
Though...
This is just one criteria your mind evaluates
There are many others - again too much to cover in this one guide.
What’s important to know here is, it doesn’t matter how much you want to do something, how simple the solution is, or even how much benefit you will gain, your own brain can prevent you from doing it.
This is another way procrastination & self-sabotage show up - from resistance.
What makes this even more challenging comes from the…
3. Tricks
When resistance stops you from doing something, it doesn’t tell you that it's stopping you or give you a reason.
For example, if identity is the culprit, resistance won't say, “Hey, this goal of yours might threaten the identity we're trying to uphold, so I can’t let you do it.”
Nope...
Inaction manifests other ways!
Your brain uses manipulative tricks to keep you from taking action.
And it has many tricks up its sleeve to keep you from taking action.
One of the tricks is...
You'll fall into a heightened sense of planning
That is, instead of spending time to take action, you'll spend all your time planning to take action.
You’ll read loads of books, watch tons of videos, and sign up for various courses.
You'll go into painstaking detail figuring out what to do, how to do it, and in the best way.
To illustrate...
I’ll share a story about an ex-coworker, Loretta
One summer she set a goal to lose weight, get healthy, and become fit.
Before getting started, she wanted to make sure she was "prepared" for the goal.
And boy, did she prepare!
She searched for the perfect gym that was both close to her house and had all the amenities she wanted.
She learned all the exercises and routines, and their proper form and execution.
She even researched the best diet and nutrition.
Before doing a single workout
Loretta gained enough knowledge to essentially become a personal trainer.
And before doing a single workout, summer was over.
She spent all her time planning to work out, but didn't spend any time actually working out.
Obviously, she didn't achieve her goal of losing weight.
Resistance strung her along like a puppet giving the illusion of progress, without actually creating progress.
What's worse...
Even when a person completes their plan
They still don't feel ready.
So guess what they do?
Either plan more or jump to another goal or project.
Though...
This is just one trick of your resistance
There are many more tricks resistance uses to stop you - once more, too many to cover at this time.
The thing to know here is that resistance doesn't tell you when it's stopping you, instead it uses manipulative tricks that spin you in circles.
You wouldn't think of them as tricks, which is why they work so well and why you so easily fall for them.
By now you're understanding....
There's more to your procrastination and self-sabotage than meets the eye!
I'm sure you've heard the phrase, you are your own worst enemy.
Well, resistance is that enemy within that stops you!
So, anytime you find yourself procrastinating, self-sabotaging, or not able to do that thing, know it's not really your fault.
There is a part of your brain that is designed to stop you, and as you saw, it's really good at stopping you.
So, what is...
4. The Solution
Your human mind and body are complex.
They are the pinnacle of complexity in the known universe.
So it's not something that's easy to overcome.
It involves understanding your wants, the causes of resistance, and how the tricks are showing up.
Though, I have found one solution that is as easy as it gets.
And that's by...
Repeating the following statement
It’s a statement that's taken me 15 years and traveling to 100 countries to develop.
It has the power to rewire your brain to have you naturally doing more.
To the point where the action becomes effortless.
In fact, those who repeat it regularly have made massive shifts in their lives!
Would you like to know what this statement is?
Wait for it...
"I'm a do-it-now person, I easily do things now, I easily accomplish my goals right away"
There is a lot of psychology behind why this statement works so well!
1. The first part of the statement - I'm a do it now person - creates an identity that you're a person who does things now.
So, anytime you want to do something, resistance goes, "Well, since I’m a do it now person, lets do it."
Though, doing things is not always fun or easy, but oftentimes awkward and annoying.
So...
2. The second part of the statement - I easily do things now - makes the action easier and more pleasant.
You're not having to force or strain to do things.
And instead, there is a sense of ease, without overthinking every step.
Finally...
3. The last part - I easily accomplish my goals right away - ensures the action you take moves you forward.
As you learned, the wanting mechanism can pull you in all sorts of directions.
So it is easy to do a lot of things, but not go anywhere (I'm sure you've experienced that plenty).
This last part of the statement ensures your actions have focus and direction, so you are making forward moving progress.
I recommend repeating the above statement daily
You can repeat it:
- In the morning
- Before going to bed
- While cooking, cleaning, driving
- Or all of the above
You can repeat it in your head or aloud, though doing it out loud is better.
The more you repeat, the more you’ll act out what the words describe
As mentioned, success doesn't happen by doing something one time.
As much as we don't want to admit, it is achieved only by doing something over and over.
The more you do something, the more results you get.
Plain and simple.
This statement is one of those simple things that is easy to do over and over.
So...
I hope you found this guide helpful
And it opened your eyes to how deep your procrastination and self-sabotage go.
Even if I gave you the best tools in the world, the tricks of resistance would keep you from using them.
Like I said, you've already come across plenty of tools in your life
You're just not using them.
You're not using them because it was never about the tools.
It's about understanding why your brain is keeping you from using them in the first place.
Once you understand that, the tools become easier to use.
Reminder...
I hold office hours every week
This is where you can ask me your most pressing questions about improving your mental, behavioral, and emotional performance.
I've traveled to 103 countries, from visiting indigenous tribes on all continents to working with experts, healers, and masters on all continents.
So, I'd like to think I've learned a few things you might find useful.
Click here kamknight.com/officehours for dates and times of the next office hours.
Again...
If you have questions:
- About this guide
- Info in these newsletters
- Or any books you've read of mine
Shoot me an email at guide@kamknight.com.
Though...
This guide just scratches the surface
The topic of resistance goes much deeper.
There is much more to why you do what you do.
And why you can't get yourself to do what you truly want and desire in life.
Click the video below to go deeper into how to stop self-sabotaging and procrastinating once and for all!
