Getting a Grip on Proscrastination
It is easy to procrastinate and hope and pray that things will just work themselves out. To take action is a far more challenging choice. Taking action in any situation forces us to look at ourselves from a place of blunt honesty and let’s just admit it right now - that’s scary. Once upon a time in the not so distant past I had a boss who said, “Jamie when you get off track, you fix yourself. I don’t have to worry about that.”
It is easy to procrastinate and hope and pray that things will just work themselves out. To take action is a far more challenging choice. Taking action in any situation forces us to look at ourselves from a place of blunt honesty and let’s just admit it right now - that’s scary. Once upon a time in the not so distant past I had a boss who said, “Jamie when you get off track, you fix yourself. I don’t have to worry about that.”
At the root of his comment was that I am one of those people who will stand back and observe my own behavior, pick it apart and fix it. What he didn’t know was that when I feel there is a part of me that requires fixing and I don’t have the tools, time or energy to repair it – I will procrastinate and wait for the situation to fix itself.
As I have learned, that is not reality. I am not saying you have to manhandle every predicament you’re in. I’m saying you have to allow yourself the presence of mind and the strength of being to face it. If you don’t, and the chips fall where they may, you cannot be upset when they don’t fall in your favor. We all know that you cannot force life to do what you want at all times, but you can engage and be an active participant in your own destiny.
At present I am faced with a couple of different and unrelated matters that are contentious in my life. It is as if there are two squirrels, both rabid, running around in my head, and they will not be stopped until I quit procrastinating and deal.*Instead, I am mimicking the behavior of said fictitious, metaphoric squirrels. I am bouncing all over the place, unable to slow down and face my destiny. My emotions, my thought processes, my plans of attack, change from minute to minute and I can’t seem to get control of myself long enough to make solid choices.
What to do? Step one is to isolate each situation. One is personal. One is professional. Both are built on a foundation called Fear of Failure. ** In both situations, from my perspective, there is a lot to be lost. I could indeed end up crushed in both instances, never to recover - not to my standards at least. Dithering in my own muck and mire of emotional chaos is not going to solve these problems. Professionally, I have the control. It is up to me to make the commitment to the change and redirect my energies. Personally, I am at a bit of a disadvantage, because I am waiting on someone else to say it is okay to proceed.
Here’s where we become fixers. The issue you can execute control over should be taken on first. Why? Because the personal power we derive from the act of engagement will support you in coping with the less manageable issue. It is just the same as learning to balance on one leg. You eventually learn which muscles to engage if you want to keep from repeatedly falling on your ass. In this case our perseverance, our ability to stop procrastinating and move forward becomes the muscle you need to face fear and bitch slap it right in the mouth.
Did you feel that? It’s a little spark that will no doubt turn into a flame, then a fire that drives you to make strong choices. It is the inferno that will free you from apathetic tendencies. This week I am taking on my professional self and making the change I see as a necessity. Personally, I am choosing not to lollygag and say what I need to say and hope for the best. I hope that whatever the cause of your procrastination, you take it to task and find an outcome that suits you and those it affects. Peace be with you as you engage in a battle of wills with your own subconscious.
