Comments on: Face Procrastination in the Mirror

By: Melissa Karnaze

Melissa Karnaze — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:42:44 +0000

Jay, I’m usually the same way. It’s hard for me to procrastinate for long before I remember why I’m doing it. When “the emotional torture produced by the consequences of not doing outweigh the emotional torture produced by doing” I work on facing myself, and I try to do so before it gets to that point too.

Do you ever find that when you sit down to face the feelings, that it isn’t as bad as you thought it would be? Or is it usually the case where hypersensitivity makes it very unpleasant?

Hey, I’m so glad you found it here! I would love to read more of your comments. You have a unique perspective as you are actively working on mindfulness and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. I’m fascinated to see the efforts in mental health to integrate these modalities. Mindfulness seems to be hitting mainstream, and it definitely has much to offer.

Feel free to comment an *any* of the articles, and I look forward to seeing you around!

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:58:48 +0000

This article is great for those who haven’t yet recognized that procrastination is one’s attempt to avoid (facing and experiencing) whatever unpleasant emotions that the object of procrastination evokes in oneself, but what about those procrastinators like me who are already fully aware that we procrastinate to avoid experiencing unpleasant feelings, and yet continue to procrastinate because simply knowing that we’re avoiding our own unpleasant emotions doesn’t make those emotions any less unpleasant or even downright excruciating to experience?

Essentially: I still procrastinate despite being fully aware of the causes, and when I procrastinate on something I do so because I’m not willing to endure the emotional torture that results from doing said thing, at least not until the emotional torture produced by the consequences of not doing outweigh the emotional torture produced by doing. Yes, I’m basically admitting that I’m my own tormentor, but that’s what you get with a brain hardwired to be hypersensitive to unpleasant emotions.

P.S. Just found this blog; truly fascinated by it because I’ve been trying out the mindfulness thing as part of CBT to manage my anxiety/neuroticism (in the Big Five Factor Personality sense). Expect more comments from me in the near future, though I might be responding to rather old posts.

By: Melissa Karnaze

Melissa Karnaze — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:07:02 +0000

Cool Cordes, feel free to let us know how it works for you and the network of friendly procrastinators! :P

By: Cordes Simpson

Cordes Simpson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:51:55 +0000

Very interesting! I am definitely going to try this because I am a great or rather bad procrastinator. I’ll pass this on to my other friendly procrastinators. Thanks

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:18:49 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by TracyBrinkmann: Face Procrastination in the Mirror http://bit.ly/4FfLCw…

By: Melissa Karnaze

Melissa Karnaze — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:00:06 +0000

lol WN, this one gets me big time every now and then. And I’ll be the first to admit I can be pretty darn good at running from myself.

It just struck me that avoidance of emotion may be the motivation of the better share of our behavior.

Oh boy, you said it. SO much of our behavior is subconsciously driven. And I think a Big part of the driving is actually “running from.” When you really let that sink in, it’s astounding. But you’ve got to start somewhere, right? :)

By: WN

WN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:33:10 +0000

It never occurred to me that procrastination had anything to do with avoidance of feeling something, but you are damn right! Whether it’s washing my car or paying a bill or beating myself up over not calling my old college roommate, it’s totally “running” from that emotion.

It just struck me that avoidance of emotion may be the motivation of the better share of our behavior.

Holy crap!

By: Tweets that mention Face Procrastination in the Mirror -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Face Procrastination in the Mirror -- Topsy.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:50:31 +0000

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