Procrastination? Or Guidance from Your Higher Self? (Part 1)

• Failure to send in an article query by the deadline.
• Watching contest deadlines come and go.
• Not picking up the phone to schedule a workshop or speaking engagement.
• Accumulating a few rejections and not sending the manuscript back out.

Whenever we fail to act, even though our minds are telling us that we should act, our inner wisdom may be trying to teach us something. Often, the hidden lesson is more powerful and more valuable than the outcomes of any contest could be. So, let’s dig.

It Could be Fear

Yup, fear is usually the culprit. To know that we are afraid, however, doesn’t help us heal. We need to ask, “What kind of fear?” Does fear of failure or fear of success pop into your head? Have you been accused of either or both? Well, again, possibly true but not too helpful. Let’s break it down some more. Are any of these voices the ones you hear inside your head?

I’m just not good enough!

This voice prevents us from moving forward because it shares all kinds of lies with us on a daily basis. It says things like: Who would want to read my writing anyway? Or, I haven’t been doing this long enough to be any good at it, or, I don’t have any clips so I’m not a real writer.

When we live with a voice like this and when we let it limit what we can do, we stay stuck, and so does our small piece of the planet. On the other hand, when we work through the stuckness, when we hear and recognize that voice (Who first told you that you weren’t good enough and how old were you?), then we begin to heal a small part of ourselves and that healing ripples out into the space and people around us.

I’m not allowed to be that smart, that brilliant, that successful!

Sometimes being the bright lights that we are can rock the boat. A child more brilliant that his or her sisters or brothers. A brilliance that doesn’t fit gender stereotypes. A level of smartness that is equated to not being cool and therefore having no friends. There are many reasons we can become trained not to shine.

Is there one person in your life that stands out when you think about being too brilliant? Is there a husband, sibling, parent, or friend whose own shaky self-esteem could be threatened by your success? Many times we dim down our own lights in order to avoid hurting those we love.

The above examples are just two possible reasons for your inactivity.  On Monday, we continue the conversation with an exercise to determine exactly what is hiding under your procrastination rock.   See you then!