Murdered Possiblities

Procrastination murders possibilities.  This is partially explained by the 'primary path' phenomenon.  Our primary path is a chain of activities that each support whatever it is that truly motivates us, true motivation being the root of all primary path activities.  Primary path goals and their activities have the best chance of getting done.  Why?  It's simple, we want to do them.

To illustrate, if M motivates you, the goal, G1, in support of M, generates a certain set of activities.  To achieve G1, activity3 might be required.  Doing activity3 might imply doing activities7-9, and so on.  So, activity8 would be in your primary path M -> G1 -> activity3 -> activity7-9.

The Accomplice
The secondary path is a set of activities you do because you think you should do them.  These have a lower chance for success.  The reason may be that, usually, the impetus for these is relatively external and not your true, internal motivation.  Time waisted in the secondary path these kills the innocent, stored possibilities in your primary path.

Procrastination is the evidence.  If you keep procrastinating in some area, you might find you're trying to function with external motivation, in direct conflict with your own.  In this scenario, you have three options:

1. admit reality and cease the activity,
2. just do it, despite how inefficient and miserable you'll be doing it, or
3. change your motivation entirely

Quitting doesn't take responsibility for your commitment.  You may not even have that choice, in which case you'll find yourself doing the bare minimum to get by.  Changing your motivation is a tough option because it really means changing you, a thing not easily done. 

A Better Way
A better way is to start off setting goals and engaging in activities that directly reflect what truly motivates you.  If they don't, then don't even try to go down that path!  You'll find yourself following through more consistently and feeling better about yourself.  So, if your primary motivation is to relax after working hard all winter, then deciding to "plan a beach vacation for June" would be a logical, effective intention.  Despite how good it sounds and how much it would benefit your reputation, deciding to plan your next SourceForge contribution would not be.

So, it boils down to a simple mental exercise you can perform every time you contemplate doing something: Is what I'm about to do in my primary path?  Your goals will become clearer and easier to prioritize, you'll do fewer things that are a waist of time, and you'll feel more at ease with others.  It forces you to examine why it is you do what you do and, more than not, everyone will be better off for it.

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