You procrastinate because of lethargy

Okay, so you've taken the quiz and the real reason you've been procrastinating is lethargy, or in other words, de-motivation. I'm gonna show you exactly why it's happening for you and how to get out of it today.

So our feelings are what drive our actions. That means the only reason you ever do anything is because of how you feel. So it makes sense that when you're feeling lethargic or unmotivated, you're not going to want to take any action.

So here's what's been happening for you: Your brain has been bringing you thoughts, like, “I don't feel like doing it.” And when you think that, you feel lethargic, you don't take any action and then you don't see any results – so there's no reason for your brain to want to do it.

There's no motivation because you haven't seen any new results. So it just reinforces to your brain that you still don't feel like doing it, and it kind of goes round and round, where the more you think, I don't feel like doing this. The more you feel lethargic, the more you don't take action, the less results you see, the more you don't feel like doing it. And it just goes around and around and around. And we wanna cut you out of that loop. So I'm gonna explain exactly how.

So the first thing you need to know is that it is not your fault that you feel lethargic. Your brain is wired to avoid taking any action or expending any extra energy just in case you need to use that energy later to run away from a tiger or forage for berries or something we had to do back in the day.

And sending an email is really not a good use of your energy according to your brain. But because we don't have to face those dangers anymore, and the brain just kind of hasn't caught up yet. Your brain is still bringing you lethargy and saying things like, I don't feel like doing it. It is your brain's survival mechanism. You're literally fighting against your survival instinct.

So do not feel bad if you feel like you're someone who just feels lethargic a lot. That is me. I feel it a lot, and that's okay because I have the tools to get out of it. So when your brain brings you the thought, I don't feel like doing it. You just wanna notice that and really ask yourself, is that true?

Because actually you probably do want to do the thing. It's just that your brain doesn't have a good enough reason to do it. It doesn't have a compelling reason that it thinks is worth it. If your brain says to run away from a tiger, it thinks that's a good compelling reason, because a tiger is running towards you.

But sending that email, if you're not really gonna get a really huge result from it straight away, it doesn't see a good reason that you should take action. So you have to remind your brain of why it is worth it. Because when your brain is saying to you, “I don't feel like doing it”, what it's really saying is, “I don't think the outcome is going to be worth it.” And so you have to show it why it is {worth it}.

And we know this is true because imagine if there was a thousand dollars at the end of that email. Every time you sent an email, you got a thousand dollars. Would you want to do it? Would you feel like doing it? Yeah, you would, right? Every single time you'd be like, “I feel like doing this”.

So it's just about finding the result that you want and reminding yourself of how important it is. Because when you can give your brain a reason of why it's so important, your brain is gonna wanna do it, and you actually do stuff all the time that you think you don't feel like doing, but you actually do feel like doing because the outcome is worth it.

Like for example, paying your taxes. Nobody likes to fill out those forms, but we do it, because we don't want the consequence of what's going to happen if we don't do it. Or even if you really don't feel like making food, you're probably going to make some food if you're really hungry because the outcome is worth it.

So next time your brain tells you, “Oh, I just don't feel like doing it”, tell your brain “Um, of course I feel like doing it because I'm gonna get this at the end of it.” You wanna remind yourself that actually, “I do wanna do this”. It sounds really simple, but when your brain brings you what I call an “auto-generated suggestion”, that's just gonna pop up and be like, “Hey, I don't feel like doing it.”

You're gonna say, “Actually, I do feel like doing it. I do wanna do this.” It is unbelievably effective to remind yourself why you want to do it, because that is the reason why your brain doesn't wanna do it in the first place, is because it doesn't think it's going to be worth it. And when you show it that it will be worth it for whatever reason, you will get up and do it.

And I want you to notice that oftentimes the task itself doesn't take much effort. It's your thoughts about doing the tasks that takes the effort. So when you really don't feel like doing something, you're telling yourself, “I really don't feel like doing it”, you're coming up with all the reasons why the task is gonna be really hard. And that's the resistance that feels really difficult, not the actual task, it's resisting doing the task that feels lethargic, that feels exhausting.

That makes you want to not do it because you're thinking, “I don't feel like doing this/ But when you actually realise, “Hey, I do wanna do this” so much of the effort disappears because the resistance is gone. So next time your brain brings you the thought, “I don't feel like doing it”, remind yourself why you actually do wanna do it, and then look for all the reasons why that's true.

Why do you actually wanna do this thing? I promise you, it sounds so simple, but it works. One of my favourite thoughts to remind my brain of is “This can be easy and fun.” All right, so go and practice thinking that you do want to do it, and that it can be easy and fun.

And make sure you check your inbox, because I'm gonna be sending more videos on how to break free from procrastination and overcome the lethargy that you're feeling so you can go after your goals at full force.

I'll talk to you soon.