Why do we as humans frequently act in ways that we don’t actually want to? How many times have you said or done something that makes you wince when you think about it later? The fact is that your unconscious mind is in charge of most of your actions, especially those that are difficult to explain logically. Procrastination is when you know what you should do and have the capacity and desire to do it, but you don’t. Although there are several apparent grounds for procrastination, the main cause of this irrational behavior is found in your subconscious mind.

Your conscious mind’s ability to deal with life is severely constrained. The amount of conscious control you have is usually restricted to one item at a time. This is why relying on your willpower to effect long-term change seldom succeeds. What you need to do is alter your automatic behavior, which is stored in your unconscious mind, the portion of your brain that regulates all of your mind’s and body’s critical activities. Willpower can be used to combat procrastination, although it is typically only a temporary solution. Your unconscious connections, not your conscious acts, are to a considerable measure responsible for your procrastination.

Daniel Kahneman’s bestseller “Thinking Fast and Slow” claims that human decision making is subject to many follies, biases, and inherent human laziness. Daniel is also a Nobel Prize winner and is acknowledged as the father of the field of Behavioral Economics.

The basic idea of “Thinking fast and slow” is that we have two modes of thinking. The first mode is called System 1 (S1). This is intuitive in nature, it is emotional and acts automatically and quickly. It is based on mental rules of thumb (heuristics) and biases (cognitive). This system doesn’t involve much effort. It is often sloppy and wrong.

The second mode of thinking is System 2 (S2). This is rational thinking. In contrast to S1, this type of thinking is slow, deliberate and often requires significant effort. It doesn’t just go by intuition or gut but is more instilled in reason or logic. This thinking is often much more accurate or precise. As this type of thinking is effortful, the human brain has limited capacity for this kind of thinking.

Back to procrastination. Your System 1 thinking is created to protect you, and when fear arises, your nervous system will “kick in” to “defend you” through the subconscious. The irony is that we unknowingly train ourselves to dread some things by associating incorrect meanings with them. Nothing in life has any significance until you give it that significance. You physically “store” neurological connections to events in your nervous system so that you can act fast and efficiently the following time. Whenever anything happens to you, the way you describe the event to yourself gives it significance. Unconsciously, you’re continually trying to figure out what anything means, and at the most basic level, you’re trying to figure out if it implies pain or pleasure. This meaning is then stored in your subconscious mind, where it will later help you act (or re-act) properly. The problem is that when associations are reinforced, beliefs are formed that have a significant impact on your behavior and are frequently the source of procrastination.

Despite the fact that procrastination defies logic, it exposes a lot about your unconscious and self-imposed limitations and (in)abilities. Worry, primarily the fear that taking action would result in discomfort or a terrible experience of some type, is the leading cause of procrastination. Your unconscious mind mixes and searches its “files” to create a “link” that connects the action to an unpleasant event. This might be anything from a minor annoyance to something that is really painful. Even if you consciously desire to do something, your unconscious mind will stop you because it links the activity with pain. As humans, we instinctively seek comfort and will nearly always choose whatever seems most comfortable at the time. This is why you delay on chores that don’t feel good right now but will provide you a lot of joy in the future.

Learning (System 2) to fight against this drive for comfort is what leads to all of the essential progress for you to achieve actual success. When you consider procrastination as a gift in disguise, you may begin to exploit it and benefit from the behavioral insights it provides. Procrastination exposes your worries and, by design, provides the necessary resistance for you to expand and grow in your ability to push through your fears and build the lifestyle you truly desire. The amount of “discomfort” you can comfortably live with determines the quality of your experience. Procrastination may also shed light on the goals that you value the most, as your anxiety over postponing demonstrates that some part of you cares enough to be concerned.

It’s been stated that we shape our habits first, and then our habits shape us. This is also true of mental habits, and procrastination is frequently manifested as a regular pattern of thought. Your ideas influence and are influenced by your actions. Your behavior will “play the same song” every time, like the etched pattern on a record. Your connections with pain and pleasure play a significant role in determining what you will or will not do in your regular behavior. When your habit pattern is triggered, you create habitual thought patterns that drive you to automatically act or withdraw in specific ways.

In order to address the core cause of procrastination, you must be conscious of your associations with pain and pleasure. There are several symptomatic remedies that will not provide a long-term solution. Although willpower is required at first, the goal is to re-establish your associations with the tasks you are avoiding. If you can overcome your self-imposed anxieties and take action, you can be, do, or have anything your heart desires. Although the root of procrastination is in your subconscious mind, your conscious actions are ultimately in charge.