Why You Procrastinate (It's Not What You Think)
Wed Feb 04 2026
Do you ever sit down to do something important and suddenly find yourself reorganising drawers, researching holidays, or staring at a blank screen while silently asking, “Why can’t I just do this?”
In this episode of the Building Resilience Podcast, Leah Davidson reframes procrastination as a nervous system response, not a motivation problem or personal failing. Rather than being about laziness or lack of discipline, procrastination often shows up when your nervous system senses emotional or social risk and moves into protection.
Through a nervous system informed lens, Leah explores why pushing harder rarely works and what actually helps instead. You will learn how awareness, regulation, and small safe steps can create real momentum without shame or pressure.
We’ll explore:
Procrastination is not a character flaw, it is a nervous system responseWhen a task feels emotionally risky, the body will choose delay over actionDiscipline cannot override a nervous system that does not feel safePerfectionism is often protection, not a lack of care or effortOverthinking is a way the nervous system tries to create certaintyAvoidance is information, not failureRegulation creates momentum more effectively than pressureSmall starts teach the nervous system that beginning can be safeLINKS AND RESOURCES:
COMMUNITY
MIDLIFE NERVOUS SYSTEM REWIRE COMMUNITY 👑: A low pressure, fun community for “Queenagers” to regulate, not fix, their midlife nervous systems.
Join here: https://www.skool.com/midlife-nervous-system-rewire/about?ref=06e003b61b8148ebbafd3a067f3cc2e1
MENTAL HEALTH STATIONERY - RESILIENT BRILLIANCE PRODUCTS:
1) RESILIENCE JOURNAL: A guided journal for emotional well-being and nervous system care
Amazon US - https://a.co/d/7DpuyVj
2) MY SAFE SPACE : AFFIRMATION AND JOURNAL PROMPT SET
Amazon US - https://a.co/d/2mANQs4
LET'S STAY CONNECTED
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/leahdavidsonlifecoaching/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/leahdavidsonlifecoaching
WEBSITE: wwww.leahdavidsonlifecoaching.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Do you ever sit down to do something important and suddenly find yourself reorganising drawers, researching holidays, or staring at a blank screen while silently asking, “Why can’t I just do this?” In this episode of the Building Resilience Podcast, Leah Davidson reframes procrastination as a nervous system response, not a motivation problem or personal failing. Rather than being about laziness or lack of discipline, procrastination often shows up when your nervous system senses emotional or social risk and moves into protection. Through a nervous system informed lens, Leah explores why pushing harder rarely works and what actually helps instead. You will learn how awareness, regulation, and small safe steps can create real momentum without shame or pressure. We’ll explore: Procrastination is not a character flaw, it is a nervous system responseWhen a task feels emotionally risky, the body will choose delay over actionDiscipline cannot override a nervous system that does not feel safePerfectionism is often protection, not a lack of care or effortOverthinking is a way the nervous system tries to create certaintyAvoidance is information, not failureRegulation creates momentum more effectively than pressureSmall starts teach the nervous system that beginning can be safeLINKS AND RESOURCES: COMMUNITY MIDLIFE NERVOUS SYSTEM REWIRE COMMUNITY 👑: A low pressure, fun community for “Queenagers” to regulate, not fix, their midlife nervous systems. Join here: https://www.skool.com/midlife-nervous-system-rewire/about?ref=06e003b61b8148ebbafd3a067f3cc2e1 MENTAL HEALTH STATIONERY - RESILIENT BRILLIANCE PRODUCTS: 1) RESILIENCE JOURNAL: A guided journal for emotional well-being and nervous system care Amazon US - https://a.co/d/7DpuyVj 2) MY SAFE SPACE : AFFIRMATION AND JOURNAL PROMPT SET Amazon US - https://a.co/d/2mANQs4 LET'S STAY CONNECTED INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/leahdavidsonlifecoaching/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/leahdavidsonlifecoaching WEBSITE: wwww.leahdavidsonlifecoaching.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.