Beyond Procrastinating Is Understanding

What if you could never procrastinate? What if, in fact, something else was going on? Something you were barely aware of because you focused on the idea of your – procrastinating and not on the real issue.

“Beyond the label you have placed on your inaction is the truth.”

I love this one because, in reality, you can never procrastinate. In fact, I might go out on a limb and say there is no such thing as procrastination. Just sit and think about this before you jump down my throat. There is no such thing as procrastination. Take a look outside your window at nature. Do you see that Life cannot procrastinate? A flower comes up exactly at the right time in spring; an animal eats when it is hungry and sleeps when it is tired. It cannot be any other way. So, if procrastination doesn’t exist then we are left with a label. A label is only an idea with lots of “baggage” attached that we place on ourselves to describe what we think is going on, but that is all it is.

This idea has had a huge effect on people who get this. They feel freer, more able to accomplish based on their natural rhythms rather than pre-existing defined expectations.

So, take away the label for a minute. Just lay it aside. Now you are free to examine your behavior by redirecting the energy you are putting into feeling guilty or beating yourself up over not getting something done. Now you can look straight at the issue of what is preventing you from moving ahead. When you can do this, the answer becomes glaringly obvious.

It’s not yet time
There is not enough information to take action
Assistance is needed from others
A building up of energy within is needed for actions to occur
No action is actually required, you just don’t know it yet
There is no real understanding of how you actually operate
It is a natural part of the creative process
You are not honest with yourself — let’s face it, you don’t actually want to do it

Beyond procrastination is understanding your nature. There you have it. The more you accept who you are, your motivations and rhythms — the more you realize how you operate — the more clearly you understand you cannot do something that is merely a label, a fiction.

Maybe you have to accomplish something, maybe you don’t. Free yourself of the real issue, that by focusing on the idea of procrastination you are keeping yourself from actually seeing the truth of the matter. Now, at least, you will have the energy to know the difference.

Meditations on life, leadership, and how the world works by Jonathan Creaghan