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In this lesson, we are going to practice seeing our patterns in action.

You may have already been practicing this. As you have your container, about 5 minutes of doing a set task, set the timer and do nothing but that specific task for the entire 5 minutes. As you begin to do the task, you start to see your urges. You see what fear, discomfort, or uncertainty comes up.

Watch this over the next few days. What are you seeing? Notice throughout the day what patterns arise. Journal a few sentences about what’s going on. This is one of the best ways to reflect and capture all of those patterns that are coming up.

To reprogram our mental patterns, we need to understand them first. Is there self-doubt? Is there self-criticism or harshness? Do you think you need to let yourself off the hook like you “deserve a break” or “deserve a treat”? Ask yourself these things. The patterns are okay for now because we are learning to watch them.

As we watch, we gain awareness and see the pain around us. As we procrastinate, we see that we are putting off the life we want to live, the health we want to have, or the great work we want to create. We are making our lives harder in some way and are hurting the people we love.

Not only do we want to watch the patterns, but we need to watch the effect of those patterns. After we see how we are hurting ourselves and our loved ones, we begin to get tired of that harming pattern. When we get to this point, we are ready for a change. We are ready to reprogram.

Practice watching your patterns and see what comes up.

How is your first week in the Unprocrastination Challenge going? Check in on Slack.