Now as counterproductive as this argument may sound for somebody truly experiencing procrastination paralysis, the anticipation of a task can often make it seem more frightening than it actually is. Avoiding it can then reinforce the fear, while also reducing the time, resources and confidence available to deal with it. Dr. Javanbakht explains, “I say anticipatory fear is always bigger than the reality, and, of course, I’m talking about normal life. I’m not talking about a battlefield, right? In normal life, if you look back, most of the times, we were worried about something. The worry was bigger than the reality of the danger. So, the more we avoid, the more we create that idea of something dangerous. And, of course, because we have lost time, we have lost resources, and we have lost confidence in ourselves, it becomes harder, and that’s why I say jump in it. Because if you jump in it, the worst is that you will be able to do some of it. And sometimes, you break it into tinier tasks, which makes it more tangible and easier to do.”
