Procrastination: Sometimes You Need to Just Accept It
You might wonder how procrastination applies to loving yourself.
Well, if you procrastinate, and are anything like me, you'll put
something off, and put something off, all the while nagging
yourself and feeling worse and worse about yourself. We put
ourselves through so much--when really, we should just accept
that we need to get to our goal slower, or even just be
goal-less for a while.
I think that there's often a good reason for procrastination.
Our society sees procrastination as a negative thing--what are
you doing putting it off; just get it done--but I think it's a
message to ourselves that we are not quite ready to do something
yet. And that's okay.
Sometimes we need to take our time getting there. This is often
true with creative solutions, thoughts, and the creative process
in general, that there's a period where we must put aside the
problem or goal and stop consciously thinking about it, almost
put those thoughts into temporary hibernation. We may feel like
we're doing nothing, but actually things are moving under the
surface, even (or perhaps especially) when we're not aware of
them. It's a kind of incubation period for creativity and
change, and a part of the process. It's important to give
yourself the time to just "do nothing," while thoughts are
working themselves out deep down inside, on a subconscious level.
Or maybe we have to get past an emotional block before we can do
whatever it is we need to do, or think we should be doing. Or
maybe there's something else that needs our attention and
emotional energy more than the thing we think we should be doing.
By allowing ourselves to take the time we need to take, we
nurture ourselves. By accepting that procrastination may even be
a positive thing, and by letting go of the constant nagging
(which doesn't help you get there any faster, but only makes you
feel worse) and the self-criticism, we help ourselves feel
better about ourselves--and in so doing, we may even get to
where we want to go faster, or along a better route that we
hadn't seen when we set ourselves the goal. Even if we take a
long time getting where we think we should, by allowing
ourselves that time we respect our feelings, our needs, our
selves. So give yourself a break. Let yourself
procrastinate--and know that it can be a healthy thing.