Fear in most self development books have always been seen negatively. Yet, if employed properly, it can actually be your greatest assets in ending procrastination in life.
The fear which we are talking about here is the fear of suffering the consequences of sub-par performance. Also, the guilt of not being able to finish your job on time can also plays a major part in your efforts of ending procrastination.
In fact, some people are actually able to correctly utilize fear as a powerful source of motivation to aid them in performing at their peak.
The truth is, when you work towards a goal, there are two main forces that act in your life. They are the pull of pleasure and the push of pain.
And the fears of having to face those negative consequences due to your act of procrastination can actually be one of your major drivers in ending procrastination in your life.
What you want to seek here is not to really experience the fear real life through real procrastinating and delivering sub-standard tasks. Instead, it is to make good use of your imagination, to be able to see in your minds’ eyes, the possible worst scenario you may have to go through should you continue to procrastinate in completing the important tasks at hand.
And to better aid you in your visualization, you can think back to the time when you had to face dire consequences as a result of your delayed actions. Visualize in your mind the pain you had to go through because of that.
Also, you can try narrating the whole incident again on paper. Sometimes, putting pen to paper can bring back more vivid memories of the past.
Now, realize that the exercise depicted here is actually to help you get motivated and going about ending procrastination. It is not an exercise to let your self esteem take a pounding or to make you feel all stressed up.
Instead, it is the opposite. By ending procrastination early, not only will you have a higher chance of completing the tasks at hand before the deadline, you might also hand in a better work quality. In this way, you will no longer need to hear the harsh comments by others due to any delayed submissions or sub-performance on your part.
Also, by allowing yourself ample time to accomplish the work, you will not need to get all stressed up when the deadline draws near.
“Procrastination is like a credit card: It's a lot of fun until you get the bill."
~~ Christopher Parker ~~
When utilized properly, fear can be your great ally in managing and ending procrastination. However, do take note that when misused, fear can certainly be a real stumbling block to your success.
