Be You Own Cause:
Procrastination as a Battle for Control

In an article on procrastination in Psychology Today the author Hara Marano argues that procrastinators actively look for distractions, particularly ones that don’t take a lot of commitment on their part. Checking e-mail is almost perfect for this purpose. They distract themselves as a way of regulating their emotion such as fear of failure.

Procrastination as a means of avoiding failure is a compelling idea, although it only begins to tell the story.

There is something threatening about the activity that procrastinators are avoiding. It may be fear of rejection, fear of disapproval, fear of failure and in most cases I suspect it isn’t clear what fear constitutes the major threat.

It is an individual matter what constitutes the threat; it differs for different people. If fear of failure is the culprit, then if something is done in a tardy way, it’s not an indication of true ability. In a school setting, a “C” grade may only mean that if you studied, you would have got an “A”. Ones’ self image is protected.

Some use alcohol to procrastinate. It’s a form of self handicapping so you avoid feeling inadequate and blame the less then stellar outcome on the fact that you were not operating at full capacity.

For other procrastinators, the threat is constituted by fear of success. Success is dangerous to some. It may upset existing relationships or be viewed as traitorous by less successful friends or relatives.

In the end, procrastination is a way of fighting a battle for control. When directives come from some outside authority, like a boss in a company, or even when the source is internal like one’s conscience or inner guide, the impulse for rebellion may be a tempting choice.

Many object to feeling controlled by any entity and procrastination is a way of fighting back. It’s a way of saying”no” to control from any source.

Seeing the different threats that may undermine effort, it is useful to know that perhaps one is being duped by that part of the self, an archaic sub-self from childhood, which is seeking to protect you from all possible dangers. But now, as an adult, you are much better able to handle the anxieties that arise, whatever the source.

After all, it is much better to be the cause of your own behavior rather than a victim of other’s negative assessments that flow from your own failure to engage.

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