I have a few theories, and all of them apply to my life, unfortunately (and I recognize they’re not healthy–ugh):

1. Fear is a biggie (I agree with Adeline)–fear of the unknown, especially. Sometimes it feels better to stay where you are–even if it sucks–than to try something different wherein you don’t know the outcome. This applies to both fear of success and fear of failure, in my mind: Both are the unknown. Purgatory is sometimes the only comfortable place. Sick, I know.

2. Avoidance, absolutely. For me, I stay busy both to feel like I’m doing something productive (even if the act of being busy actually has me doing a total time-wasting activity) and to avoid being alone with my thoughts. Why? Because I know my thoughts have a lot of wisdom buried in them…things like, “Why are you wasting your time on that? Go do something fun, for crying out loud! Or at least make a dent in that pet project you keep putting off in lieu of other people’s needs.”

3. Guilt. In my case, this is largely cultural. I was raised by East European immigrants whose culture is practically defined by what they call “selflessness” which most psychologists would call “martyrdom.” In this particular community (as in many others), your purpose in life is to help others to the nth degree–the second you turn your attention on yourself (yah, even if you have a chronic health condition and need to stay home) you are not only selfish, but you are a disgrace to your family and your community. Ouch. On a related note, this same upbringing values following through with a commitment no matter how painful or difficult or senseless (hence the prevalence of abusive relationships). Quitting is not an option. Nor is failure. I’m 30 years old and have only recently begun to see the folly of this thinking. Environmental factors are very strong when it comes to learned behaviors.

4. Feeling needed/important. If you have something to do, you’re being a productive member of society, right? I think this aspect is also related to #3. The funny thing is that self-care (including shortening the to-do list, or at least being realistic about it) is one of the most productive things a person can do for him/herself. You take care of you = you are better able to take care of others. Seems like a simple concept, but it’s very difficult to practice. It takes discipline.

5. For those who have the added whammy of dealing with a mental health condition (depression, anxiety, OCD, etc.), there’s also that chemical imbalance that somehow makes suffering a little more comforting than relief. Sounds backwards, but it is surprisingly common. (And this is one of the many reasons it’s really shameful that the US doesn’t have a good public health care system in place for helping people who can’t help themselves…but that’s another topic.)

Now for the good news, and this gets back to something you said, Jonathan, in your “law of attraction” post: The mind is a powerful tool. We CNFers have, perhaps unconsciously, been repeating the wrong messages to ourselves. What would happen if we replaced them with healthy ones that would actually help us not get so caught up in to-do lists that mean nothing and instead have us focusing on bigger life goals that create meaning and richness during our short time on this planet? I’m thankful that the work I get to do is what I love (music and graphic design), but sometimes maintaining the status quo isn’t enough. You need to propel yourself into action, but it has to start in the head first. I teach voice one day a week, and my biggest catch-phrase for my students is “mind before music”–you won’t get what you want out of your life if you don’t first believe it will happen. But you won’t have room in your mind to visualize your goals and create those beliefs if it’s so full of to-do nonsense that you’re too pooped at the end of the day to even think about it.

Thanks, Jonathan. I think that, in responding to your post, I’ve figured out a few things I need to do.

Nice catch!

@ Emmanuel – good points, there are definitely many different elements in play, this is one for many people

Another piece of the puzzle:
They are so many things to try, all bringing new feelings and sensations.

I start a new task.
Just to discover it was not as good as figured out, then I quickly zap to another one.