{"id":462,"date":"2021-06-03T20:11:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T18:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogger.amazingmarvin.com?p=462"},"modified":"2025-04-22T14:25:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T12:25:54","slug":"how-low-self-confidence-causes-procrastination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazingmarvin.com\/blog\/how-low-self-confidence-causes-procrastination\/","title":{"rendered":"How low self-confidence causes procrastination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Procrastination is a complex issue. Many people think it is simply laziness<\/a>, or a time management problem, but in reality it is neither of these things. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are many different factors that influence procrastination and i<\/span>n this post we will look at one such factor: low self-confidence.<\/p>\n

Quite simply, if your self-confidence is low your tendency to procrastinate is much greater.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a good explanation why low self confidence causes procrastination and it is all down to how your brain works.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Low self-confidence and procrastination – a destructive cycle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Understanding your brain and the basics of procrastination<\/h2>\n

Your brain truly wants the best for you. It is constantly looking for rewards (anything that feels good) and tries to avoid getting you into dangerous situations where you might get hurt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Weighing risk and reward<\/h3>\n

Your brain is constantly weighing the potential reward and risk for any activity and situation.\u00a0<\/strong>This equation determines if you are going to go ahead with an action or procrastinate it.<\/p>\n

Procrastination is born from the emotional part of the brain, that doesn\u2019t have the ability to think long-term or in complex ways, it only reacts based on learnt patterns and instincts. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fear and procrastination<\/h3>\n

Fear is one of the most powerful emotions we have. It drives so much of our behaviour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fear is always a signal for danger to your brain, so your brain tries to keep you away from anything that makes you fearful. <\/strong>This is why you are likely to procrastinate things you are afraid of or that feel uncomfortable. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your brain doesn\u2019t know the difference between \u2018this could actually kill me\u2019 fear, and the fear that comes from stepping out of your comfort zone to try something new.<\/span><\/p>\n

Preserving energy<\/h3>\n

Your brain also tries to make sure you don’t spend unnecessary energy. In most of human history, food was scarce. Running around for the fun of it could quickly make you run out of energy and die. So your brain wants to make extra sure energy is only used when there is a pretty high potential for reward.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This also explains why playing video games is so addictive. They are literally designed to trigger a feeling of reward in our brain (e.g. like picking up coins, completing patterns, killing an enemy) and we have to spend very little energy to get this reward.<\/span><\/p>\n

And as for the tasks that frustrate or bore you\u2026. Well, your emotional brain sees no immediate reward to these at all, only discomfort. Which is why filing your accounts, putting the laundry away or doing 500 rows of data entry might be a challenge! <\/span><\/p>\n

How low self confidence can cause procrastination<\/b><\/h2>\n

So how does self-confidence factor into this?<\/p>\n

Self-confidence is about trusting yourself and your ability to succeed at things<\/strong>. With high self confidence you can be optimistic that you can tackle a task and be successful at something.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you have low self-confidence you basically don’t have much belief that you will be successful at something.<\/p>\n

And without an expected reward (which comes only by being successful at the task) your emotional brain is really not motivated to perform this action<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This makes a lot of intuitive sense as well: Why invest time and energy into a task when you\u2019re doomed to fail anyway? Where\u2019s the reward and pleasure in that?<\/span><\/p>\n

This thinking can also block you from completing projects even if you have confidence around some aspects of the project. Perhaps your biggest doubt lies in your ability to see the entire project through to the end. This kind of low self confidence often stems from procrastination itself, so it’s a positive feedback loop (more on that later).<\/span><\/p>\n

Procrastination as a protection mechanism<\/h3>\n

The second way low self confidence causes procrastination is through the need to protect yourself from even more blows to your confidence.<\/p>\n

When your confidence is already on shaky grounds, taking action on some tasks becomes risky. If you fail at an action it is further proof that you aren’t good enough. So your subconscious mind is trying to prevent you from doing anything difficult with a potential for failure to protect your ego.<\/p>\n

Difficult tasks become really risky. As they have the potential to deliver another devastating blow to your confidence if you fail at them. So starting a task but then not being able to do it, would have pretty devastating consequences. Better not to try at all.<\/p>\n

And so you procrastinate because you don\u2019t want to fail, or fall short of the standard you hold for yourself, so you put off starting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t fail if you don\u2019t even start, right? <\/span><\/p>\n

This is especially true if you have a fixed mindset (new post about this, link) and interpret any challenge as a sign you are not good enough.<\/p>\n

What kind of tasks are at risk when your self-confidence is low?<\/h2>\n

Low self confidence can cause procrastination for many different types of tasks:<\/span><\/p>\n