The Antidote to Procrastination

Lately I've been presented with a veritable Smorgasbord of choices. I'm not complaining at all! What I am noticing, however, is the way that I create things in my life and how that can lead me down a path of procrastination if I don't pay attention.

I never seem to create just one thing at a time. Instead there is always a pattern of multiple options, a plethora of choices and a whole bevy of exciting opportunities. I become the kid in the candy store. I want it all! - and somewhere in my head a little voice pipes up and says" well - you'll just have to choose." Another voice then points out "better make hay while the sun shines - you may not get this chance again." I thought that perhaps by bring it to life on the page I would begin to discover more about this intriguing pattern.

I know that when I am in flow, I have incredible energy. I am bursting with ideas and then the limitations begin to crowd in. I begin to feel like there isn't enough time to bring it all to life. I start to worry about how to fit it all in. I feel overwhelmed by the scope of what I have in mind .... and I haven't even got off the couch yet!! Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration :)

I carry this belief that once I start I MUST finish - or die trying! Along the way I've picked up all kinds of messages that say that I can't change my mind. Somehow, I have decided that I'm irresponsible if I switch mid-stream and so I have become reluctant to commit. I've acquired a belief about the scarcity of time and opportunity available to me. I wonder how many of us are limited by notions similar to these ones. I'm willing to bet that many of what we consider to be creative blocks, have their roots in this type of thinking.

When I see those limiting words on the screen, I know that they aren't mine but they were certainly directed at me. They were ways that I've been taught to stay in line. Maybe they were useful at one time but as a creative adult, they aren't useful at all. They aren't all bad- they have helped me stick with challenges, build a great career, and accomplish quite a lot of great things in my life. However, they are double edged.

If I heed them mindlessly, I procrastinate and stifle my creativity. I dismiss possibilities before they have even grown wings because of this habit of thinking. And that's all it is - a habit. If I am willing to be awake and alert as I go along, then I know that the first blush of excitement at a new idea need not fade so fast. I know I can explore, play and change my mind as I go along. I'm willing to follow this path just to see where it takes me and I can trust myself to make a choice that is based on the current experience and not influenced by old habits.

So who needs limitations?! Bring on the adventure! As Louise put it so well, I have the right to change my mind :) And as I write this, I can feel the excitement rising, knowing that I don't need to kill off my ideas in order to be focused, I can simply follow them and see where they lead. Now that's what I call an antidote to procrastination!