Is it possible that the cycle of procrastination and anxious regret is an elaborate defense mechanism?
I think the reality of the situation could be that you are afraid that if you actually focused on a project and put a lot of time and your best effort into it, it would still fail.
And, to protect yourself from that potential outcome, you sabotage your efforts with procrastination and then tell yourself a convenient fiction after the fact: "If I had only focused, I, too, could be a hotshot."
Possible solutions include learning to accept mediocrity, bracing for failure and going for it anyway, and therapy.
Or maybe you just need a partner (or team) to help you stay focused and motivated? That helps me.
I think the reality of the situation could be that you are afraid that if you actually focused on a project and put a lot of time and your best effort into it, it would still fail.
And, to protect yourself from that potential outcome, you sabotage your efforts with procrastination and then tell yourself a convenient fiction after the fact: "If I had only focused, I, too, could be a hotshot."
Possible solutions include learning to accept mediocrity, bracing for failure and going for it anyway, and therapy.
Or maybe you just need a partner (or team) to help you stay focused and motivated? That helps me.