我们为什么这么爱拖延? | Why Do We Often Procrastinate?

做了才会有勇气，

不能等着有勇气了才去面对。

Do not wait for the courage to face the problem

because you may be waiting in vain. 

 
拖延症有很多原因：畏难情绪、侥幸心理等等，归根到底是习惯问题。《弟子规》上教导：“宽为限，紧用功。”从面对不理想的境遇，我们往往会怨恨他人、责备他人，总是忿忿不平的指责“他都做了些什么”，在外境找理由，但这除了令自他痛苦以外，别无作用。反过来还可以有一种心态，多想想“我做了什么？我能做什么？”把心力用在积极的方面，因为我们的目的不是怨恨，而是建设、改善。

Many things can contribute to procrastination, such as fear of difficulties and wanting to take chances. All of these factors result from habits. “Di Zi Gui” (“Standards for Being a Good Student and Child”) teaches: “Be generous with time when making a plan, but be strict when implementing the plan.” When faced with unfavorable conditions, we often hold grudges and blame others by asking: “What has he/she done?” Looking for external causes brings nothing but affliction to us and to others. We can take the opposite attitude and think: “What have I done, and what can I do?” Focus on the positive side, as our goal is not to have resentment but to reconstruct and improve our minds.

拖延症是一种典型的不理智行为，被情绪所控制而白白浪费许多时间，越是如此心中焦虑越深，于是情绪越重，形成恶性循环。负面情绪的产生，不是事情太多，而是最重要的一件事情没有做，一直沉甸甸地压在心头。许多人喜欢把最难的一件事放在最后去做，其实是一种潜在的逃避。内心深处的畏难、愧疚、担忧慢慢堆积，便形成“压力山大”，越发感到困难和畏惧。解决办法就是去直面问题，去做最重要的、自己最惦记的一件事情，做了才会有勇气，不能等着有勇气了才去面对。

Procrastination is a typical irrational behavior controlled by emotions which results in wasting lots of time. The more one is in such a situation, the more anxious and emotional one gets. One gets caught in a vicious circle of negative emotions which is not caused by having an excessive number of tasks to do, but by leaving the important things undone and allowing them to burden the mind. Many people prefer to leave the most difficult task to the last minute; this is an escape in disguise. When shame, worries, and the fear of difficulty accumulate somewhere deep inside, you will feel “stress heavy as a mountain,” which results in greater fear and difficulty. The solution is to manage the problem head-on; first deal with the most important issue or the one that is of utmost concern. Courage will then kick in. Do not wait for the courage to face the problem because you may be waiting in vain.  

当我们做事遇到困难时，要问一下：我们做的东西是不是我们要的？如果是我们要的东西，是我们追求的东西，我们就要一以贯之，勇往直前，永不退缩，往下做，往下学，最后事业就成功了。

Whenever we hit a wall while carrying out a task, we ought to ask if what we do is indeed what we desire and if it is what we would like to pursue. If yes, we ought to bite the bullet, learn as we go along, and success will follow.

搞任何事情都不能有一种应付的心理，都要一鼓作气，还要越做越好，越做越大，不然人就完了。

Never carry out any task with a perfunctory attitude. Instead, do it by putting in maximum effort, and endeavor to make it better and greater. If not, one will become hopeless.

来源：学诚法师的微博