The implications of their conclusions concerning long-term state-oriented motivational mechanisms are far-reaching. I would imagine that in the real world this distinction is not so dichotomous and lies somewhere on a fluctuating spectrum for each individual. I have come to recognize the development of the dissociation of my own emotional preferences from my motivational mechanisms as I have emerged from a difficult life period. I will have great interest in seeing this concept further discussed. I hope to see some discussion of the converse - i.e. autonomous self-regulation taken to the extreme. I could imagine that persons with an overly internally driven motivational system could also run into some serious struggles, though perhaps not with procrastination...

The switch from extreme state-oriented/external control to self-directed actions was by far one of the most difficult journeys I've gone through.
At the time, I didn't know what my 'problem' was. I didn't have the self-awareness, conceptual mental model or the ability to articulate my issues.
It took years of effort to go from one extreme to the other.
The path to leading a self-directed life was definitely worth every bit of blood, sweat and tears.

Pychyl writes :
"It doesn't mean that self-regulation is impossible, it's just more difficult, and may require the use of more conscious strategies to effect autonomous control and action."

If anybody knows if there are resources detailing strategies to strengthen autonomous control, I would love to know of them!