At its root, procrastination is often caused by fear stories that hold you back from fulfilling your deepest purpose. Understanding the root not only allows you to accomplish the task but also helps you heal the underlying mental pattern, that may be affecting other areas of your life as well.

Get curious and discover what activates the avoidant behavior by reflecting on the five journal questions below.

Question 1: Make a list of areas in your life where you may be avoiding or delaying action.

Question 2: Write down the "why" behind the avoidance/procrastination.

Question 3: Notice if there is a "fear story" behind the reason. An illusion overriding the truth. Write it down.

Question 4: Reflect on if there are other times in your life that this pattern has showed up?

Question 5: What did you need to hear in those other moments in order to feel loved?

Here's my real life example:

Question 1: What is something you're avoiding right now?

My example; I am avoiding responding to a personal message from a friend.

Question 2: Lean in with curiosity. Why are you avoiding this? This part can be raw and unfiltered.

My example: I'm afraid my opinion may upset them.

Question 3: Write down the truth behind the fear or story from step 2 that's holding you back or keeping you small. Remember, FEAR = False, Evidence, Appearing, Real.

My example: I can’t control how someone else feels, but if I never share my own opinions, I'll never give myself the chance to be understood. From there, I'll end up resenting the other person, and also myself.

Question 4: Reflect on if there are other times in your life that this pattern has showed up? Often times, we attract the same patterns over and over, until we heal the emotional root.

My example: Yes, I can recall a string of memories from past relationships and childhood of feeling emotionally misunderstood, or needing to stifle my emotions because it did not feel safe or welcome to express them.

Question 5: What did you need to hear in those other moments in order to feel loved?

I needed to be know that it was okay to express my opinions and it was okay to feel differently than others. In fact, I needed to be encouraged to do so.

Post journal exercise:

After journaling through these questions, notice how you feel. The deeper awareness is the first step to clearing patterns that no longer serve you. From there, you can take on new patterns that come from a deeper sense of self-worth. Pair this exercise with a relaxing meditation to help you connect back to your sense of inner peace and truth.

One caveat:

It's important to also remember the one caveat, which is that sometimes, there is a wisdom to procrastination. Our soul does want us to wait till we have more information to execute something. As you strengthen your relationship with your intuition, you will be able to differentiate if you are holding yourself back, or trying to force yourself to do something too soon.