Distractions or Lessons?

PROCRASTINATION AS A TEACHER

What is driving this procrastination? Maybe it is time for a little bit of re-fitting (like you do when the chain falls off your chainsaw). When your pathway disappears into the distractions, you can justify your procrastination, by noting that all of these diversions are good for you ultimate goal, and maybe taking a break from the grind up the stairs might be appropriate. Okay, I can go for that! It is something we do all the time. It might help to put some structure to this procrastination (i.e. become aware of what we are doing and why, and then each diversion might be incorporated into the steps to the goal).

THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS 

Here are some thought experiments that might be helpful.

1. What are you feeling emotionally as you let yourself get distracted? Are you tired of the grind, are you excited by the end of the quarter and you would really rather “be done” with the many steps that are left? Are you a little jaded by the memories of the last time you worked really hard on a project, and your boss said “Well, that’s nice... We really need to get the minutes of the Quality committee finished? “ She didn’t notice your hard work, and complained you were behind on something else. GRRR!! Discouragement, exhaustion, annoyance, and other emotions can cloud your desire to keep on stepping!
2. What mental preparation do you need to do accomplish the climb you are trying to make? Do you need to learn new things (like memorizing the many different systems that make the eyeball work?) Does the climb require that you learn new academic skills— like taking a statistics class for the performance improvement study at work?
3. What physical preparation do you need? Obviously physical stamina is important for this climb. But what about those mosquitos, and the snakes, and the creek that pops up on the other side of this hill? How do you prepare for those? What do you already have in your backpack that can help you?
4. Spiritually, are you doing what you should be doing? Is this path taking you where your meaning and mission lies? Is your goal really what you should do to honor your Creator, or are you making this climb to please someone else? 

ENGAGE YOUR CURIOSITY

Having worked throughout the thought experiments, you can then return to your path. Here are some questions about the diversions that were distracting you: 

• What can you learn from the bush and its flowers about your actual goal?
• What does the wall teach you about goals?
• What do the steps teach you about your goals?
• What guidance do the grasses and the trees provide?

So now. Here are some of the more routine and challenging goals that could cause someone to procrastinate. You can substitute your topic for the ones in the examples. 

• Defining the processes that need to be refined in the Financial Aid department.
• Scheduling local artists for my radio show on Careers and Lifestyles.
• Host a Garden Party to raise capital funds for a historical green house.
• Writing essays for the next few issues of the newspaper.
• Creating a handbook for taking charge of your career in a corporate environment.
• Preparing for the certification that will help me move up the career ladder.
• Convincing 10 companies to sponsor a therapy horse for a year. 

As in great adventure, there are, lurking in the darkness, people who might try to manipulate you to “paddle their canoe” rather than giving you directions for your own journey. Or, your family members could be calling you back, asking you to do what they would do, or participate in their fears. They are well meaning, but you follow your own path, while still respecting their concerns. You have different skills and have had different opportunities to prepare you that your parents and siblings may not have had. Be ready to welcome the great serendipity that you find on the other side of the brush covers the current path.

The pathway to your greatest potential is straight through your greatest fears! ~ Craig Groeschel