The Truth About Your 'Lazy' and ‘Procrastinator’ Part — What IFS Can Teach Us About Self-Sabotage
Ever had one of those days where you just can’t get yourself to do the thing?
You tell yourself “I’m lazy,” “I procrastinate,” “I just don’t have confidence.”
But these aren’t flaws. They’re actually signs that a Protector part of you is active.
In Internal Family Systems (IFS), we understand the psyche as made of many parts — inner sub-personalities that carry their own beliefs, memories, and emotional burdens. Each of these parts is doing its best to help you survive.
Here are the three main types of parts in IFS:
Exiles – These are your younger, wounded parts that carry past pain, shame, rejection, or fear.
Protectors – These try to prevent you from feeling that pain again. They include:
Managers (like the perfectionist or procrastinator),
Firefighters (like the numbing, avoidant part that distracts or reacts impulsively).
The Self – The calm, compassionate core of you that can hold space for all your parts.
So when you find yourself stuck in procrastination or self-doubt, try asking:
What are you protecting me from?
What are you afraid will happen if I try and fail again?
Is there an emotion or a past experience I haven’t yet fully processed or integrated?
You’ll often find that your “lazy” part is shielding you from burnout.
Your “procrastinating” part is keeping you from the shame of failing again.
Your “unconfident” part is trying to protect the child in you who once felt unseen or unworthy.
These parts are wise. They are loyal. And they don’t need to be pushed away — they need to be heard.
IFS teaches us that healing happens not by cutting parts off… but by turning toward them with love.
Because beneath every “block” is a younger part of you simply asking:
Please don’t let that happen to me again.
And when your Self comes online with curiosity and compassion, those protectors can soften.
Your exiles can begin to heal.
And you become the leader of your inner world.
If you’re ready to meet these parts of yourself with compassion and become the leader of your inner world, my 1:1 coaching offers a space to do just that—with depth, safety, and soulful guidance every step of the way.
This is a 1:1 portal for profound inner work, where we meet the shadow, reclaim lost parts of you, and rewire the patterns keeping you in survival through feminine embodiment, shadow work, NLP, and kundalini activation.