The universal law of cause and effect is visible everywhere. The effects, or the evidence, is mostly what we can see and what we experience, while the cause is often more far reaching and indirect. Nevertheless, we can always trace the effect back to a cause.  Most people end up blaming circumstances on ‘coincidence’ or ‘luck’ or ‘chance’, but in reality all these effects are nothing but a natural law asserting itself.

On a very practical level we are all very familiar with the concept of action and reaction. For every action there is an equal, but opposite re-action. This is one of the laws that Isaac Newton uncovered and is still one of the most fundamental laws by which this universe we live in is governed. On a much more metaphysical level the law of action and reaction, or cause and effect, also holds true. In the ancient eastern philosophy it was referred to as the law of Karma, where every single action will come back to you in like kind. Like a boomerang, what you put out will come right back at you, although it’s often disguised as something else.

A lot of the ‘effects’ in your life are caused by this strange human phenomenon called procrastination. Although it’s quite obvious that every action has a reaction, it’s a little less obvious that every in-action also has a re-action. It is not just what you do that makes the difference in your life, but also what you fail to do. Procrastination is that strange (lack of) behaviour where you want to do something, but still you don’t. The question that arises is ‘what are the causes and effects of procrastination?’ Well, there are many. Let’s look at three of the most common causes and effects of procrastination, keeping in mind that for every cause there is an effect.

Cause and Effect #1: The Fear Of Failure
The fear of failure is a major cause for procrastination. In fact, all forms of procrastination has some kind of fear at it’s roots. The fear of failure is a common fear that we all share. As human beings, we are not designed to fail. We are designed to consistently progress and improve. This fear then keeps you locked up in procrastination as a way of keeping your from failing. The effect of this form of procrastination then is quite obvious: failure to utilize opportunities. If you don’t act on opportunities they aren’t really opportunities are they? It is never a case of whether opportunity is knocking, but rather a case of whether you are acting on this opportunity and utilizing it.
Cause And Effect #2: Feeling Overwhelmed
We all have a limited mental and emotional capacity. Just like your physical capacity, you have a limit to what you can take on at any given time, and only you know what that limit is. When you overload yourself physically, your body usually breaks down in some form or another. When you overload yourself mentally and emotionally, your mind will intervene, usually in the form of procrastination, to keep you from a ‘mental overload’. The effects of this form of procrastination is that you start to avoid tasks, especially the important ones that you know you ‘must’ do.

Cause And Effect #3: Postponing Important Tasks
Procrastinators are actively seeking out diversions, no because they are lazy, but because at some level they fear the task that they are avoiding. By postponing a task you actually ‘lie’ to yourself. Instead of giving up or quitting – all you are doing is to make yourself feel a little better by saying ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. By postponing important tasks, you postpone important results. Remember that for every cause there is an effect and when you postpone the actions you also postpone the results.

The are no definitive answers to what are the causes and effects of procrastination, as the effects are often far reaching. The simple fact is that without positive and constructive action on a consistent basis, you will rarely produce any significant results. Procrastination is what keeps you immobilized and locked up in where you are. To get to where you want to be, you have to break free and break out of this mould. You can overcome procrastination and you can learn to develop both your mental and emotional capacity to take your life to a whole new level you never thought possible before.

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Have you ever wondered why you procrastinate? Procrastination is indeed a very strange behaviour and is a trap that all of us tend to fall into from time to time. On a conscious level you might want to do something or achieve something and although you know what you have to do, you still can’t seem to get yourself to actually do it. It’s almost like there is some ‘invisible force’ that prevents you from taking action and you can’t quite explain what it is - from a rational perspective at least.

Although it might appear that there is no logical explanation for this seemingly irrational behaviour, there are still reasons for procrastination. These reasons, however are not always that obvious. Human behaviour is not haphazard or coincidental - everything we do we do for a reason. In fact, everything we do, we do for a positive intent. Everything that you do is driven by your desire to improve your circumstances at some level of your consciousness. It is impossible for someone to do something that she believes will leave her worse off. For some people this might mean killing themselves, while for others it might mean climbing a mountain, while for others it might mean giving up a bad habit. It all varies according to our beliefs.

This is a very important concept to understand if you are to understand the reasons for procrastination. Although there are many reasons on the surface as to why you procrastinate, the underlying reason always boils down to one factor: FEAR. Fear is what shuts you down and prevents you from taking action. By design fear is there to ‘help’ you and whenever you fear something you will be compelled to prevent an encounter with whatever you fear.

Although fear is the underlying factor behind procrastination, we tend to see certain common fears amongst procrastinators. Here are the three most common reasons for procrastination and the fears that we subconsciously attach to them:

Fear #1: The Fear Of Failure
When you fear failure you are inclined to avoid participating in the first place. The common association is that ‘if I don’t do it, then I can’t fail and no one can judge me’. This is very prominent amongst procrastinators and they often hide behind the perfectionism frame. They will wait for things to be perfect until they take action, so they keep postponing tasks waiting for the ‘right time’ before they take action. Out of the fear of failing and looking bad, they would often spend vast amounts of time on a project without making any real progress because at a subconscious level they don’t ‘want to’ finish – a finished project will make them vulnerable for criticism and consequently failure. The result is that they always find ‘good reasons’ to postpone or even avoid the tasks all together.

Fear #2: The Fear Of Unpleasant Or Painful Experiences
If you believe that some action will lead to a painful or unpleasant experience then you will feel compelled not to do it. Your nervous system is designed to avoid painful experiences. The ironic thing is that we get to decide what we believe, and what will be ‘painful’ experiences. Unfortunately for most of us, our beliefs were ‘installed’ by default and we learned by association. Through experience we ‘learned’ by our results and we tend to use this limited information form (mostly) past experiences to make up future meanings and we start imagining potential consequences to the point where we actually believe them. If you believe that some action will lead to a painful or unpleasant experience, you will avoid it, regardless of whether your association is accurate or not. What you believe is what’s real for you and this is what you will act upon.

Fear #3: The Fear Of Missing Out
In the frenzy of modern living we all want to get a piece of the action. We simply cannot help it. Every day we get bombarded with numerous opportunities and it seems like the media’s sole mission is to get our attention. The challenge is that we don’t want to miss out – no one wants to be left behind and miss out on what everybody else is gaining from. The challenge with this is that we tend to take on way too much, to the point where we get overwhelmed. When you feel overwhelmed, the natural reaction is to shut down and the result is usually procrastination. When you overload yourself with too many things that you ‘have to do’ you simply cannot deal with all of it and procrastination comes to your ‘aid’. Like a breaker switch in an electric current, procrastination will kick in when the load becomes too heavy.

These three factors are by no means the only reasons for procrastination, but it is definitely some of the most common. An awareness of these fears in itself can help you to overcome procrastination. Realize that F.E.A.R is only an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real and most of your fears are only imaginary.  You can break through your fears and take action. It is your ultimate power to direct and steer your life. Don’t allow procrastination and indecision to keep you immobilized. Keep moving forward. Keep taking action.

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