Alex T, London
"When I first heard about tapping I was sceptical, I’d never done anything like it before and wasn’t expecting to see much change. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Tapping has made a big impact on me and I’m seeing the differences in all parts of my life." Click to Read More
Ending Procrastination
The only reason you procrastinate is that a part of you doesn't want to do whatever it is you are procrastinating. Tapping is one way to permanently kill that part.
People often say they need more motivation to achieve their goals, and this is true to an extent. However I would argue that if you want more motivation to do something, then you already want to do it, and that should be all the motivation you need. What you really need is to remove the psychological barriers to doing it.
As a student I always used to procrastinate my essays. They felt like really hard work, I didn't think they'd be good enough, and I always had other things I wanted to do. So I'd leave them until the last minute, when I knew I'd get in trouble if I didn't do them. The fear of getting in trouble gave me the extra motivation.
That's what people say when they need they want more motivation, they think they need to fear not doing something more than they fear doing it.
Tapping is a way to remove the negative feelings around doing something in the first place. When I work with students now on procrastination, we find all their negative beliefs around doing their assignments, and tap those beliefs away.
What happens is that when you think about doing your task, your negative self-talk starts up. I'd be sitting at my desk with a blank sheet of paper in front of me, and I'd start thinking all sorts of limiting thoughts; "I don't know how to start", "I'll never get this done", "I don't understand the topic", "all my friends are elsewhere having fun".
It's not comfortable to think those thoughts. So to distract yourself from the uncomfortable feelings, you distract yourself from their source, and go off and do something else instead. But of course the work itself isn't really the source of the feelings, the feelings just arise from your own mind thinking the wrong thing.
With Tapping, you can literally find those negative thoughts one-by-one, and release the negative feeling that you associate with them. That way you probably won't think them again, and if you do, they won't have the same emotional impact, so you'll dismiss them easily.
- Try Tapping RIGHT NOW - I've created a video Killing Procrastination that takes you through the basic steps. To get the most obvious change, apply it to something you really don't want to do. You might not instantly feel like you are eager to do it, but you should at least find it a little easier. If you are new to Tapping, the process might seem a bit strange - you might want to watch the introductory video on the front page of the site first.
- Check out my E-Book - For a fuller understanding of how your limiting beliefs stop you achieving your goals, take a look at my e-book. It includes clear instructions on how to find the negative beliefs that stop you achieving any goal you like.
It's amazing how well this technique works. I used to hate tidying my room and doing the washing up, for example. When I tapped away all the negativity around doing those things I actually started to enjoy them!
When I tried this technique with my friend, we tapped away all the negative feelings and beliefs that were stopping him do his taxes. When we had tapped them all and he couldn't think of any more, I asked him if there was anything else he wanted to work on... and he said no, he'd rather go and do his taxes.
It takes persistence, but the way you are with one thing is the way you are with all things. I found that by tapping away the feelings and beliefs that made me procrastinate doing the washing up, tidying my room, and my taxes, I pretty much tapped away the feelings that made me procrastinate doing anything.
I hope you'll have the same result.
Free 'Tapping Points Summary' Cheatsheet
When you subscribe to our Tapping Tips Newsletter
Tap Yourself Free
|
Featured Articles
I've been meaning to produce this video for ages, and I finally got round to it. It's easier to get round to things when you have tapped away the feelings of not wanting to do them.
Nothing gets blasted more in the self-improvement industry than 'Positive Thinking'. The cynical among us are quick to point out that just believing in something doesn't make it true, and even the most optimistic optimist will concede that they don't always take Positive Action based on their thinking.
I often find I have to try a couple of therapists in each therapy before I find one I like. Here are some pointers on how to know when you have found a good therapist, whatever the therapy, and some tips to find them first time.