Human beings operate on a pleasure/pain basis. In other words, people are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Food, freedom, sex, etc. are the pleasures that people are actively motivated to seek. Similarly, money, a feeling of accomplishment, winning and success are some of the lesser but still rewarding pleasures. Games are enjoyed by people because of their clear-cut goals and scorekeeping characteristics which even provide a chance to win a motivation to play. In its absence, the game would seem meaningless and people would not like to play it.
Punishment is a negative motivator and people perform at a level just sufficient to avoid punishment. On the other hand, praise and recognition are positive motivators. However, being generally nice and giving constant praise to people regardless of their behavior is not motivation. Gifts another kind of motivators is like a Christmas present. The success of the gift is determined by how much the receiver likes it, not how much the giver does. Challenging work, good money, and respect can act as effective motivators for most of the people.
People with a low sense of self-esteem look to the work they produce as a constant measurement of their inherent worth. They fear failure because it would strike at the very core of their value as a person. So, they depend on procrastination. It allows them to preserve an illusion of brilliance without ever having the illusion destroyed by reality.
Fear of success is another reason for procrastination. Such people only consider the additional responsibility that success may bring. Part of the fear is that if you do well this time, you will have to top yourself next time too. This need for perfection is often a reflection of self-esteem problem. Such people spend inordinate amounts of time making sure that there is no room for criticism. In the process, they end up far behind schedule. It would be a nice idea to set up checkpoints so one does not find himself in a...