Procrastination
Procrastination
I like to think of my tendency toward procrastination as the art of putting off doing something unpleasant today until a more suitable time or cir****tance presents itself. With unpleasant things, though, one could argue that it is unlikely for a more suitable time or cir****tance to actually come about. Sometimes I think that I procrastinate at work so I could blame someone else’s impatience or inhumanity for any resulting negative consequences rather than just accepting that I am unhappy in my job and being willing to actually do something about it more directly. Doing so would mean that I have to take responsibility both for making the decision and for any problems that arise due to making that decision…..and therein lies the key to my procrastination.
Psychologists will tell you that procrastination is often rooted in anxiety, self-doubt, perfectionism, and a self-defeating mentality. These are the same damned things that led me to obesity. I put off WLS for years until I started having more serious health problems. I hope that I haven’t shortened my life too much because I was unwilling to put my own physical health above other priorities for so long. Similarly, my career unhappiness has probably dragged on for a decade too long. I am trying in earnest to do something about it now, but I still find myself anxious about how other people in my life will view my actions. In the past that anxiety would have stopped me cold because I was unable to face the possibility of criticism or rejection from others due to my own self-doubt. Even if I am trembling on the inside, I now have the self-confidence to face that criticism and finally, once and for all, kick procrastination’s ass.
Do you procrastinate? If so, what are you doing to kick its ass in your life?
RP
