These words were written by author Richie Norton. He also wrote, “Perfectionism is a disease. Action is the cure.”
Just like perfectionism, which I discussed in the previous blog post, procrastination is also the thief of time.
We have this idea that everything should be easy and fun. As soon as it’s not, we don’t want to do it.
Our basic human motivation consists of the following triad:
- Move towards pleasure.
- Move away from pain.
- Be efficient/expend as little energy as possible.
So it makes perfect sense that the minute we perceive something as unpleasant, uncomfortable, hard, or in other words, painful, we move away from it and put it off.
We procrastinate.
We delay.
But we are only delaying the inevitable because eventually the unpleasant things in life have to get done.
By waiting and putting off unpleasant work, we are only compounding the pain.
mindful doc mom
By waiting and putting them off, we are only compounding the pain.
We still end up having to do the the unpleasant work, but now we’ve spent all this time thinking about the work, worrying about the work, feeling the pressure and weight of the work, and dealing with the consequences of what we did to avoid the work (overeating, overdrinking, overspending, for instance). It may also take more time to do the work now that we’re so far removed.
If you flip the motivational triad above on its head, your life will start to shift.
Sometimes patients hand me a stack of records during the visit that I have to review. Sometimes I’m not sure about a radiology protocol that needs to be ordered and I need to make a phone call. Sometimes I need to look things up or discuss a mutual patient with a colleague or fill out paperwork.
In the past, I used to put these tasks off until sometime after the visit was over, usually in the evening or on my days off. What I’ve come to realize is that the more I am willing to do these things now, in the moment, during the visit, the better my life gets in and out of work. I am willing to take the time now to do the unpleasant work because it saves me so much time later. When I put it off, it weighs on my mind and takes me longer to complete.
If you are willing to move towards what’s uncomfortable, you will get more done in less time.
If you are willing to do what’s unpleasant now instead of waiting, you will eliminate so much mental chatter in your brain that sucks your energy dry.
Instead of avoiding the unpleasant, see it as an opportunity for growth and goodness in your life.
Even the best jobs in the world have unpleasant parts to them.
Even the wealthiest people on earth have to do hard and uncomfortable things.
Life is 50/50 for everyone and you can’t outsource the negative half of life.
If you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, then someday you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them.
John C. Maxwell
Now go pick one thing you need to do that you’ve been putting off and do it now!
Need help getting it done? Schedule a free Zoom call with me on my calendar link below. Learn how you can train your brain to take action in your life, even when it’s unpleasant.
