Procrastinating--not just the province of irresponsible, lazy underachievers--often plagues bright, creative and sensitive souls.
These talented visionaries can become dupes to procrastination at the behest of their active imaginations.
This may take the form of mulling over dozens of ways to begin a task, drowning in a morass of competing approaches.
Or worse, imagining disaster scenarios, sabotaging any chance for success before ever getting off the ground.
Remember, your brain perceives what you imagine or visualize as real, whether it is mundane or grandiose, positive, negative or neutral.
You only need to do the oft-demonstrated lemon visualization exercise to know that this is true.
Close your eyes for 10 seconds.
Imagine biting into a lemon.
Did you salivate? Your mouth scrunched up, just as if you had actually bitten into the sour citrus fruit...
Let's consider one of these smart, creative people trying to sign up for a class.
Their active imaginations may turn up the following quagmires: Not knowing how the other students will dress, being too dressed up or down and feeling like the odd ball Being humiliated when called on by the teacher and not having the answer Getting stuck in traffic and arriving late, having to walk in while everyone watches Getting a crush on someone only to be rejected, and too embarrassed to continue the class Once this visualization taints their perceptions, even the most strong-willed would be hard pressed to complete the class enrollment.
Instead of procrastinating, a suggestion by time management guru David Allen (Getting Things Done) is to consciously decide to banish from your thoughts imagined perils or competing approaches that will only delay forward motion.
Then, with fervent intent, commit to a small first step, without any attachment to the results.
Without even caring what the result may be.
It's an intentional dumbing-down process: Just like the bumblebee, which is scientifically proven incapable of flying--but doesn't know it.
So the bee flies anyway.
If not for yourself, implement that first step for the greater good.
Think of family, friends, or perhaps your entire community: If you fail to take that first step, how will it affect them? If you launch this, what rewards will be theirs? Whether for yourself or others, the next time you find yourself procrastinating, when you're just sooooo..
..
tired, things are too unsettled this week, the weather's bad, the cousin is getting married, and on and on ad nauseam, consider what Goethe had to say about beginnings: "Whatever you can do, Or dream you can, Begin it, Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
"
These talented visionaries can become dupes to procrastination at the behest of their active imaginations.
This may take the form of mulling over dozens of ways to begin a task, drowning in a morass of competing approaches.
Or worse, imagining disaster scenarios, sabotaging any chance for success before ever getting off the ground.
Remember, your brain perceives what you imagine or visualize as real, whether it is mundane or grandiose, positive, negative or neutral.
You only need to do the oft-demonstrated lemon visualization exercise to know that this is true.
Close your eyes for 10 seconds.
Imagine biting into a lemon.
Did you salivate? Your mouth scrunched up, just as if you had actually bitten into the sour citrus fruit...
Let's consider one of these smart, creative people trying to sign up for a class.
Their active imaginations may turn up the following quagmires: Not knowing how the other students will dress, being too dressed up or down and feeling like the odd ball Being humiliated when called on by the teacher and not having the answer Getting stuck in traffic and arriving late, having to walk in while everyone watches Getting a crush on someone only to be rejected, and too embarrassed to continue the class Once this visualization taints their perceptions, even the most strong-willed would be hard pressed to complete the class enrollment.
Instead of procrastinating, a suggestion by time management guru David Allen (Getting Things Done) is to consciously decide to banish from your thoughts imagined perils or competing approaches that will only delay forward motion.
Then, with fervent intent, commit to a small first step, without any attachment to the results.
Without even caring what the result may be.
It's an intentional dumbing-down process: Just like the bumblebee, which is scientifically proven incapable of flying--but doesn't know it.
So the bee flies anyway.
If not for yourself, implement that first step for the greater good.
Think of family, friends, or perhaps your entire community: If you fail to take that first step, how will it affect them? If you launch this, what rewards will be theirs? Whether for yourself or others, the next time you find yourself procrastinating, when you're just sooooo..
..
tired, things are too unsettled this week, the weather's bad, the cousin is getting married, and on and on ad nauseam, consider what Goethe had to say about beginnings: "Whatever you can do, Or dream you can, Begin it, Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
"