The Real Reason You Procrastinate
And the Hidden Tricks that Keep You Stuck
Welcome back again ...
As you know, I'm Kam Knight:
- Coach
- Speaker
- Author
And in this guide, I'm going to show you the secret to ending your procrastination & sabotage.
Though...
I have to warn you...
If you're looking for a quick fix, or some tool or technique to overcome your lack of action, you won't find it here.
That's because you're mind and body are extremely complex.
There are deep underlying reasons for why you procrastinate & sabotage.
So it's important to understand this complexity
If the fix were simple or could be overcome with tools or techniques, you would've come across them already.
What's more, you'd actually be using them.
Since you haven't or aren't means there's more going on than what you've been taught.
To understand this complexity, know....
The part of your brain that creates wants and desires
Works separately and independent from the part that allows you to act on those desires.
So, you have one part of your brain that creates wants.
And a completely different part that gives the green light to act on that want.
So, it's possible for your brain to both create a want for something, and at the same time, keep you from going after it.
And...
That's what procrastination and sabotage really are
It's a part of your brain NOT giving the green light to go after a desire or outcome.
Interestingly enough, both parts can get in your way!
The part that creates wants can get in the way, as well as the part that holds you back from the want.
And in this guide, you'll learn how both your wants and resistance hold you back
1. Wants
Let's first start with your wants.
It's hard to imagine, but many of your challenges in life actually come from your desires.
That’s right!
Your challenge to doing what you want comes from the want itself.
That's because...
The part of your brain that creates wants and desires is completely unrestrained
It’s creating them one after another.
The only job of this part of the brain, which I call the wanting mechanism, is to create wants.
And it's cranking out endless wants and desires, day in and day out, at a pace faster than you can achieve.
You can think of your wanting mechanism like a simple on-off switch
It gets flipped based on certain cues:
- It sees a new pair of shoes, and wants it
- The latest iPhone comes out, it wants that too
- Someone attractive walks by, and it wants that as well
This switch creates so many wants in a single day
You don't have the time or energy to achieve in a lifetime.
Even if you lived multiple lives, you couldn't achieve, let alone enjoy all the wants your brain is producing.
That’s because your wanting mechanism DOESN'T understand that your time, energy, and resources are limited.
It simply creates wants.
Nor does it check to see if your want is achievable.
It simply creates wants.
Even while you’re working on one want, your mechanism is creating other wants to chase
The wanting mechanism is the reason
- You buy stuff you DON'T need
- Crave things that AREN'T fulfilling
- And why people cheat when they’re already in a relationship
It’s also the reason why it’s so hard to "do your work."
This mechanism pulls you in so many directions, it’s difficult to stick with any one.
Though...
This is just ONE of challenge of your wants
There are many other challenges the wanting mechanism creates, including:
A. Conflicting Wants
This is where you brain creates 2 opposing desires.
So, having one means giving up another.
Because you can't let go of either, you end up achieving neither.
B. Strong Wants
This is where your desire is so strong, it consumes all your attention and focus.
So you don't have anything left to work on the task, activity, or goal.
In other words, since all your attention and energy is on the desire, none is available for actually working on the desire.
C. Unaligned Wants
Remember, your wanting mechanism doesn't check to see if a want will be fulfilling, it simply creates wants.
Just because your brain creates a want for something, doesn’t mean you will actually enjoy or find it fulfilling.
So, you may be chasing a want or desire you deep down don't really care for or desire.
Since you don't care for it, you don't care to go after it.
This is one way procrastination and sabotage show up - from your wants
The other is...
2. Resistance
As you learned, anytime you have a want, it's reviewed by resistance to see whether you should do it or not.
Resistance looks at many criteria to decide if you should do it or not.
To understand resistance works, I'll quickly talk about one of the criteria.
One reasons resistance stops you from going after something is because...
The task or goal opens the door to a lot of failures
I’ve traveled a lot!
To over 100 countries.
But there was a point when I was afraid to travel.
In fact, traveling was so scary, I rarely traveled alone.
After diving into the root of this resistance, I realized...
My brain was processing all the things that can go wrong
- What if I buy the wrong flight
- Book it for the wrong date
- Or I have to cancel and can’t get a refund
- What if I can’t make it to the airport
- Miss the flight
- Forget to pack something important
Or worse
- My luggage is lost
- I’m pick pocketed
- Or the hotel isn’t nice
So...
Anytime you set out to do something
Especially something new, your brain processes all the things that can go wrong.
You don’t notice the processing happen, but it’s there running in the background.
All you notice is the inability to do the thing.
The more things that can go wrong, and the worse the outcome of each thing, the more resistance will hold you back.
But Instead of telling you what those things are, your brain just creates this impenetrable wall you can’t push through.
The wall can feel like being paralyzed and not knowing why.
Though...
This is just one cause of resistance
There are many more reasons resistance stops you, including:
A. Self-Image
Many people have created a self-image of being cool, smart, tech savvy, and so on.
But they won't apply themselves, because if things don't go well, they will have to face the fact that they are not as cool or smart as they made themselves out to be.
So, it's easier NOT to do the thing and hold on to the self-image, than to do it and face the possibility of proving it wrong.
B. Avoid Something Bigger
This is a pattern I see a lot with inspiring authors.
Many people want to write a book, tell their story, or get their message out into the world.
But they'll procrastinate on writing the book to avoid something bigger - and that something bigger is feedback and criticism.
They are so afraid of what people will think about their book, they will procrastinate on finishing the book now, to avoid the bigger feedback and criticism later.
C. Authority Issues
This is an interesting reason for resistance.
If you grew up around people who were always telling you:
- What to do
- What not to do
- How to do it
- How not to do it
At a certain point, your brain gets fed up and doesn't want to listen to or do anything anyone's ever said.
Even when you grow up and want to do those things, and even if you will benefit from doing them, the authority issue kicks in and keeps you from doing them.
This is another way procrastination & sabotage show up - from resistance.
But what makes this even more complicated comes from the...
3. Tricks of Resistance
Here's the thing...
When your resistance stops you from doing something, it doesn’t tell you that it's stopping you or give you a reason.
For example, if self-image is the culprit, your brain won't say:
“Hey, this goal of yours might threaten the self-image we're trying to uphold, so I can’t let you do it”
Nope...
In action manifests other ways!
Your brain uses manipulative tricks to keep you from taking action.
And it has many tricks up it’s sleeves to keep you from taking action.
To understand what I mean by "tricks" ...
Let me share a powerful story
Several years ago, I heard a woman in South Africa give a speech about her journey of addiction.
She described a pattern addicts fall into that she herself fell into.
She said many addicts know what they're doing is wrong.
When they're searching for the next hit, a part of them knows they should stop.
But a sneaky little trick keeps them from stopping.
They say…
After the next hit I’ll stop.
After the next one, I’ll stop.
I just need to do it one more time, but after, I’ll stop
Here is the thing…
They keep saying this.
When they say it, they’re convinced it’ll only be one more time.
Absolutely convinced!
In their mind, they truly believe after the next one they will stop.
I bring this up because...
I know you’re doing this in some area of your life
Anytime a reminder comes up, in that moment, a voice surfaces that says:
- I’ll do it later
- I’ll do it tomorrow
- I’ll do it this weekend
- I’ll do it next week
- I’ll do it next time
When you say it...
You’re convinced you’ll do it later or next time.
Absolutely convinced!
But when the "later" or "next" arrives, you push it off to the next and next and the one after that.
And you'll do it for months and years
This is one of the tricks of resistance
It makes you keep putting things off.
In fact, there are some people who have been telling themselves later or next their entire life.
Every time they say it, they're convinced they will start next time.
But they never do.
Though...
This is just one trick of your resistance
There are many more, including:
A. Overwhelm
Have you ever done something that seemed much bigger and more difficult than it really was.
But after doing it, you were like, that wasn’t so bad, why didn't I start sooner?
Well, that's another trick of resistance.
It makes tasks much bigger and more grand that they really are.
Because they feel so big, you don't feel like starting, and because you don't start, the tricks win!
B. Bottle Neck
Have you ever told yourself you'll start working out once you sign up for a gym membership?
Then you waited weeks, months, and even years to sign-up?
That's another trick!
Your brain keeps you from doing something small that creates a bottle neck to a bigger action you can take
As long as you don't do the small thing (signing up to the gym), you can't take the bigger action (working out) that lead to the results you're seeking.
C. Feel Superior
Have you ever had someone give you advice, but you said:
- "Nay, I don’t need that"
- "I got this"
- Or have other feelings of feeling "too good?"
That's another trick because as long as you feel too good, you don’t do the thing.
As long as you don't do it, the "tricks" win yet again!
By now you're understanding
There's much more to your procrastination than you thought.
I'm sure you've heard the phrase:
'You are your own worst enemy'
Well, resistance is the enemy within that stops you!
So anytime you find yourself procrastinating, sabotaging, or not able to do that thing
1. The first step is to start with your wants
Look at how your wants can be getting in the way.
Are you chasing:
- Too many wants at the same time?
- A want that conflicts with other wants?
- A desire that is so strong, you can't focus on the action?
- Or Something that isn't ultimately fulfilling?
As you saw, your own wants can be the very thing that keeps you from going after them.
2. The next step is to address the resistance
Figure out why your brain is holding you back.
Are you resisting:
- All the things that can go wrong?
- Damaging the self-image you're desperately trying to hold?
- Something bigger?
- Or giving the authorities in your life satisfaction of doing what they said?
If you remember, all your wants are filtered by resistance to see if you should do it, and these are some of the things your brain filters through.
3. The third step
Is to notice the "Tricks" at play.
Remember, when resistance stops you, it doesn't tell you that it's stoping you, but uses manipulative tricks.
Are you:
- Telling yourself you'll do it later?
- Thinking the task is bigger than it really is?
- Creating a bottleneck for yourself?
- Or Feeling too good or superior to do the task or goal?
Anytime you're stuck, go through these steps.
With that...
I hope you found this guide helpful
And it opened your eyes to how deep your procrastination and sabotage go.
Like I said, your mind and body are complex.
Even if I gave you the best tools in the world, the tricks of resistance would keep you from using them
In fact...
You've likely already come across plenty of tools in your life
You're just not using them :)
That's because it was never about the tools.
It's about understanding why your brain is holding you back in the first place.
Once you handle that, the tools become easy to use.
If you have questions about this guide, email me at [email protected] as I answer all emails personally :)
If you'd like to go even deeper, my course:
Conquer Internal Resistance to Achieve Your Next Goal
Is designed to do just that.
It gives you practical tips and tools to overcome your resistance once and for all.
You'll learn:
1. How to gain control of your wanting mechanism so it's not pulling you in every direction.
2. Dozens of other reasons resistance puts the breaks in your life.
3. Over 30 tricks your resistance is using right now to hold you back.
4. How to pin point the root cause of your own resistance to any task or goal.
5. Ways to program your mind to break through the resistance to naturally do and achieve even more in life.
6. And much more...
Here’s what you get:
Everything you need to conquer your resistance once and for all
42 HD Video Lessons - Accessible on any device
Module 1 - Mastering Your Wants ($100 Value)
Module 2 - Unraveling Your Resistance ($100 Value)
Module 3 - Exposing the Tricks of Resistance ($100 Value)
Module 4 - Removing Your Resistance ($200 Value)
Module 5 - Taking Consistent Action ($200 Value)
Bonus Module - Tools to Release Resistance in the Moment ($50 Value)
Bonus Access - 30 Days Support from Me ($250 Value)
Worksheets After Every Module to Apply the Material ($100 Value)
Total Value $1,150.00
only $297
30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Here’s what you get:
Everything you need to conquer your resistance
42 HD Video Lessons - Accessible on any device
Topic 1 - Mastering Your Wants
Topic 2 - Unraveling Your Resistance
Topic 3 - Exposing the Tricks of Resistance
Topic 4 - Removing Your Resistance
Topic 5 - Taking Consistent Action
Bonus Module - Tools to Release Resistance in the Moment
Bonus Access - 30 Days Support from Me
Worksheets After Every Module to Apply Material
($100 Value)
($100 Value)
($100 Value)
($200 Value)
($200 Value)
($50 Value)
($250 Value)
($150 Value)
Total Value $1,150.00
only $297
30-day Money Back Guarantee
FAQ
Rafael R Hinojosa - US Marine:
I am a combat veteran and have PTSD. I have done the traditional way of things. I have overcome a lot but I have a lot of internal resistance issues. This course is way cheaper than seeing a therapist for sure. Thank you 🙏🏽 for this course.
Mark M. G. Bowlin
I want to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for these insights. The depth of content, specially the detailed explanation on Internal Resistance was truly insightful. It’s one thing to learn new concepts, but to see the effects of tangible changes is really something else.