Derek S. Procrastination/TMS

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Question

One of my personalty traits that I am addressing in the TMS Educational Program is procrastination. I have always been a procrastinator and this trait has prevented me from being as successful as I believe I can be. I have journaled about procrastination and have speculated that the source of procrastination could be a response to overly high expectations that my parents had of me. It could also be a fear of failure. Or a fear of success. My question is: Does procrastination have any relationship to TMS and if it does, how can I overcome this trait? Thank you.

 

Answer

Thanks for your question, mulwoodscribe. Ironically I didn't answer this until the very last minute.

In your question you mention the high expectations of your parents and fear of failure and/or success as possible sources of procrastination. I would suggest that the expectations of your parents have been internalized. Your parents don’t have to pressure you anymore because your mind is doing it for them.

Procrastination is the mind’s response to feeling an immense amount of pressure. It is essentially the mind saying “Stop putting so much pressure on me!”

How does this relate to TMS? That's an interesting question.

Perhaps procrastination is the mind’s way of rebelling against pressure, while TMS is the body's way of doing the same.

Perhaps procrastination is an indirect outlet for the rage that you're repressing in response to the constant pressure you're putting on yourself.

Perhaps procrastination is an unconscious way to bring yourself to a state of fight or flight, which is home for some people.

Understanding this relationship though is pretty academic. The real question is, "What the hell do I do about it?!"

Overcoming procrastination is a process of reconditioning your behavior and facing your feelings head on. When the urge to procrastinate comes up, use this as an opportunity to explore whether you're putting pressure on yourself, what that feels like in your body, and what emotions you may be experiencing.

Like any kind of change, it will take time and practice. Be patient with yourself, you will get there with tenacity and relentless self-compassion.

Best of luck in your recovery!

Derek

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This looks like a very interesting topic----I'll read it later.

 

Thank you SO much, Forest. I'll pick up a copy of the book right away.

 

Thank you, Derek. I believe that are correct about my internalizing those feelings that my parents started. They are now mine and have been for decades. The challenge, as you said, is reconditioning my behavior, which is a major task, especially at my age (I'm 61). I will explore this further with my therapist and read Fiore's book as well. Thanks again for responding.

 

I just listened to this radio clip from a different place on the forum which makes that case for reprogramming our minds... I thought it reinforced the value of the intention. Might be a good one for you too. I'm "not young" too, but all we have is now. Let's make it work for us! Oops I thought I pasted in the clip but it didn't show up, it's from dr. Joe dispenza.

 

Still haven't gotten around to it but it's on my to-do list, waiting for Mercury to get out of retrograde.

 

Thank you Shirley. I will check out Dr. Dispnza's clip.

 

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

 

Shirley,
Herbie's new video on TMS might be of interest to you:

http://tmswiki.org/forum/threads/tried-everything-im-desperate.5459/#post-32625

 

Hi Walt, I'm not sure this link takes me to "Herbie's new video on TMS". ..?