“NATO = No Action Talk Only” is the term used for people who always do planning but never act on it. You can have the best idea and plan in the world but if you don’t act on it, it becomes useless.

In this post, I will share with you the reasons why people procrastinate. There are basically four reasons why people put off what they’re supposed to do.

1. Fear of Failure - this is perhaps the most common reason that traps many people into never taking action. Since young most of us had been conditioned to find the right answer instead of having the courage to experiment and discover many right answers.

2. Lack of Motivation - this is also one of the most commonly given reason for not acting on something. Most procrastinators believe that if they don’t feel motivated about a task then they should not get started on it. But in many cases, just taking the first step regardless of how small, can often serve as a motivator for further action. So, if you want to do something, get started as soon as you can, don’t wait. Motivation need not be present prior to starting a task.

3. Don’t have the Skill - this is another most basic reasons for procrastination. If you lack the skills to complete certain tasks, it is only natural for you to avoid them. Many people may even have trouble admitting that they don’t have the skill because of ego. Thus procrastinating may seem better than admitting your weakness or learning a new skill.

4. Complacency - being self-satisfied and complacent is another reason that stops people from taking action. In fact complacency can be due to a belief that we don’t have the power to create and influence what we want in our lives. Complacency can be self-damaging as there is no sense of urgency in you to do anything thinking that you’ve got everything you need. It has a debilitating habit that can rob us of achieving success and happiness in life.

So we have looked at some of the most commonly reasons why people procrastinate, now lets examine how to overcome it.

One strategy that is very effective in overcoming procrastination I often use is to “visualize what success looks like and how it feels“. Whatever the task you want to accomplish, picture the outcome and try to feel it rather than the activities needed to get you there. If you can feel good about something, it can serve as an inducement to take action. And always remember NOT to strive for perfection, just focus on the progress.

Want more tips on how to bust procrastination? Then start here.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, November 24th, 2007 at 11:51 am and is filed under Self Improvement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.