What is rocking chair syndrome?

We are talking about people who do not make decisions “here and now.” What is rocking chair syndrome? Authors who study the nature of anxiety and procrastination often compare anxiety to a rocking chair. “Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere,” “Empty worry is like a rocking chair: it creates the illusion of movement, but it doesn’t get you anywhere,” they say.

Rocking chair syndrome is not an official medical or psychological term, but an ironic description of a condition where a person spends a lot of time thinking about a decision, but never takes any real action. In fact, a person rocks himself from side to side, trying to prepare for all possible scenarios. healthcust reader

How to “diagnose” rocking chair syndrome in yourself?

Usually it all starts with the fact that a person lights up with some idea and really wants to start and get results. However, this is not followed by active actions – after all, you first need to carefully prepare: read the opinions of experts, go to a master class, watch hundreds of minutes of training videos, draw up an action plan. It seems like you are taking many steps towards your goal, but you are not getting any closer to it.

How to Identify the Syndrome When You Don’t Know

What causes rocking chair syndrome?

Open sources cite three main reasons why people never decide to realize their desires “here and now”:

• Fear. There are many different fears that can stop us and prevent us from achieving what we want, and sometimes even just taking action. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of criticism, even fear of success. Some people express their desires and then are unable to give up for fear of being judged or being criticized if they fail. Because of this, many pseudo-actions are performed that never lead to results.
• Striving for ideal . It is important for a person to do well and immediately – he is not ready to put up with failures, so it is better not to do anything than just how. This gives rise to constant postponing and procrastination. Procrastination is putting things off until later, the inability to start completing a task due to various reasons. This can lead to stress, poor performance and a negative impact on self-esteem. Rocking chair syndrome can lead to “productive” procrastination, when putting off important tasks is hidden under the guise of useful tasks. It is important to recognize the difference between receiving information and actually taking action to achieve your goals.
• Information overload . In the modern world there is a huge amount of resources for obtaining information – it is very difficult to filter what you need and not consume what is unnecessary. the over-choice effect can lead to paralysis and less informed decisions. When we have too many options, we can feel stressed and uncertain, making it difficult to make a decision. Research shows that people are more likely to make decisions and feel more satisfied when presented with limited choices.

How to deal with rocking chair syndrome?

First, you need to give specifics to your goal: decide what exactly you need to achieve, break your goals into small steps and start taking action.

Secondly, quality should take a back seat. This does not mean that you need to deliberately do everything badly, but at first it is enough to just start and do it quickly.

Third, it is important to strike a balance between preparation and action. Planning will help you keep track of your progress and avoid getting bogged down in preparatory activities.