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7 questions to ask yourself about why you procrastinate

When was the last time you felt curious?

“I’ve been procrastinating everything since high school. It’s been fifteen years and I don't know how to change.”

__________

Jay:

When was the last time you felt curious about something?

Hey there, friend.

If we can agree on one thing, it’s that procrastination doesn’t create anything good in your life.

It doesn’t feel good.

It doesn’t make any kind of progress.

And what’s more, it doesn’t help you feel fulfilled or purposeful.

If anything, your procrastination is the very thing that is slowly tearing away at your sense of self-confidence and self-trust.

A chronic procrastinator doesn’t trust themselves to get things done.

Now, I’m not about to write a newsletter about how you need to be productive at all hours of the day.

I’m not going to tell you to wake up at 5 o’clock in the morning in order to “live your best life.”

I am, however, going to encourage you to ask yourself some hard questions today.

Because chronic procrastination doesn’t just happen.

There is always an underlying reason and something deeper going on.

Perhaps you’ve forgotten the sudden rush of dopamine that can come after accomplishing something for yourself (even a small, simple task).

Or maybe you’ve just had too much on your plate for far too long, and you don’t see the point in all this work anymore.

Either way, procrastination prevents you from living in the present moment.

When you are procrastinating, you’re living in a constant state of anticipation of the future.

But your life is now.

You need to be here, in the present moment.

And wasting your precious time and energy procrastinating doesn’t serve you.

If you think you might be a chronic procrastinator, here are 7 important questions to ask yourself today:

1. When was the last time I felt truly curious about something?

2. What type of work makes me feel the most accomplished, if any?

3. Am I procrastinating because I dislike the work or because I don’t believe in myself?

4. How much screen time am I having each day, and how can I significantly reduce it?

5. What do I need in order to get in flow? How can I tune out the world and unlock my creative energy?

6. What is the tone of my inner dialogue? Am I speaking to myself with kindness and love throughout the day?

7. What is one small thing I can promise myself that I will do today? Keeping promises to myself creates self-trust.

Procrastination doesn’t have to rule your life.

You can let yourself be curious.

You can choose to be present within this moment.

And you can stop resisting the flow of your life.

With gratitude,

📚 #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
🎧 Host of the On Purpose Podcast
🙏 Former Monk

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On Purpose with Jay Shetty

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