So in my last post I left you with a somewhat daunting question…
I mean in all the information that’s been published, there’s got to be a solution somewhere that’ll get you to stop being a procrastinator. Right?
How’s all that been workin’ for ya?
You see, like I also said in my last post, the problem is there’s a distinction about procrastinating that most people don’t seem to get.
And not understanding this distinction blurs the reality of the problem. It renders any hope of dealing with procrastination just about dead on arrival.
What is it?
You Were Born To Procrastinate…
Your tendency to procrastinate stems from a cause rooted deep in your DNA. It’s a “default” response. It’s really not “something you do”.
It’s more “who you are”.
You see, your brain has evolved over millions of years. It’s transformed from a reactive “reptile” brain bent solely on self-preservation, to a more complex thinking machine.
And the ability to form ideas about achieving great things or earning a million bucks by starting your own business is, relatively speaking, a pretty new thing.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow explained the layers of this evolution in his “hierarchy of human needs.”
At the bottom we have our basic “physiological” needs. Shelter, food, sex, and the like. This is the level of motivation that our cave-dwelling ancestors operated from. Above that we develop “safety” needs. One step up from there, are our “belonging” needs. Evolving from there we have our “esteem” needs. And finally at the top of the pyramid are our “self-actualization” needs.
You’ve come a long way baby!
But here’s the great, cosmic irony… For all the millions of years of evolution our species has undergone, we’re still largely driven by those most basic needs. Our instinct for self-preservation. The genetic wiring that allowed us to evolve as far as we have.
And that is the key underlying fact that almost no entrepreneur considers when they’re trying to stop being a procrastinator.
…And No One’s Immune
Now certainly some people are more affected by this “wiring” than others.
But Alan Kay, (the technology legend known for his pioneering work on the graphical user interface not our own Strategic Profits’ marketing ninja), made it pretty clear…
“Scratch the surface in a typical boardroom
and we are all just cavemen with briefcases…”
No matter who we are or what we do for a living… No matter how evolved our brains, no matter how sophisticated our thinking… everyone at some point is still driven by that most basic wiring.
We still instinctively look to escape the things we deem a threat to our well being.
Now the good news is we don’t have to worry about the threats like tar pits and man-eating predators anymore.
The bad news is, today the threats we face don’t even have to be real. Anything we perceive as unpleasant or threatening to ourselves, our self-esteem, our egos, our income can and will engage our natural reaction to avoid it.
We’ll hesitate or delay. Until dealing with it is absolutely necessary.
It’s your wiring for self-preservation automatically taking over.
It’s who you are.
So here’s the ugly truth…
You can’t NOT be a procrastinator! You can’t eliminate millions of years of behavioral evolution. It’s how you’re wired. Admit it! Deal with it!
Embrace it!
Got it?
And now the next question…
I’ll be back in a couple days.