Repulsion - A step towards more successful self-regulation? | Psychology Today

Repulsion - A step towards more successful self-regulation? Psychology Today


Repulsion - A step towards more successful self-regulation?

Does procrastination repluse you?
By Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. on June 26, 2009 - 6:09pm in Don't Delay

Excerpts:

In a recent New York Times interview (June 22, 2009 by Tara Parker-Pope), Dr. David A. Kessler argues that we can learn to stop overeating if we can have a "perceptual shift" in our attitudes about food. Just as many people now view cigarette smoking as repulsive (knowing that it's harmful to us), it may be possible, and necessary, to develop a perceptual shift where we see overly processed foods or large portions as repulsive.

As readers of the Don't Delay blog know, I write about procrastination as one manifestation of self-regulation failure. So, what we learn about problems like over-eating, problem gambling or compulsive shopping, are relevant to our understanding of procrastination. Given this focus on self-regulation, Dr. Kessler's new book The end of overeating: Taking control of the insatiable American appetite, also speaks to the self-regulatory problem of procrastination.

Perceptual shifts and self-regulationThe comment that interested me most in Dr. Kessler's approach is related to perception, more specifically perceptual shifts that may help us self-regulate our behavior. Just as many of us have had a perceptual shift about cigarettes - where we once might have seen the habit as masculine or "hip" or even sexy - many now see it as a disgustingly dirty habit that harms our bodies.

Procrastination - A disgusting habit?

Do you find procrastination disgusting? As I read this brief interview with Dr. Kessler, I realized that I do.

Don't get me wrong. I don't find delay disgusting. I delay things all the time. These delays are deliberate and strategic. I don't find other flavors of delay disgusting. Only the needless, irrational delay that we call procrastination is disgusting or repulsive to me, because it undermines my life (see my blogs about the regrets of the dying or Viktor Frankl's thoughts on getting things done, or even Professor Randy Pausch's wisdom about our use of time).

It may seem overly strong to say that procrastination is "repulsive" or "disgusting" but it's really no stronger than saying that processed food is repulsive. It's a perception, or as Dr. Kessler puts it, it's a perceptual shift.

I find procrastination repulsive, as it's a type of delay that wastes precious time in my life - the most limited resource that I have. This disgust for wasting my life fuels my willpower when self-regulatory resources are failing me. To avoid engaging in a habit that I truly find repulsive, I "just get started" on the task at hand, and that makes all the difference.

Read full post: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200906/repulsion-step-towards-more-successful-self-regulation

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This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.