Self Motivator or Procrastinator?

Which are you?  The differences in lifestyles, happiness, success, ideals, and friendships are affected depending on which type of personality you possess and exude.  I use both possess and exude because I've learned someone could possess one, yet overcome it and exude the opposite.

What is a self motivator?  It's pretty much just like the word describes as one who motivates themselves.  It's great when other people, things, and circumstances are used to motivate us, because we all need it sometimes.  But the best motivation will come from that inner cheerleader, the voice we listen to most often, the thing inside we call - drive.

We can't depend on outside forces to keep up steadily moving forward. This is where most of us fail when trying to reach or maintain a goal.  We go strong as long as our motivation for the action or behavioral change is there to push us forward.  But as soon as that outside motivation gets old or dissolves, so does our resolve - and thus the reason we fail and fall back into old habits.  We do this because we return to listening to our regular motivator - the same inner voice that got us where we are in the first place.

This idea reminds me of an Einstein quote:  "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting a different result."  We have to change our mindset, our inner motivator, or we won't stick to the changes in our lives.  It's human nature to be habitual, fall into a routine, build our own little comfortable boxes, but it's not beneficial for success.  I'd even venture to say that it's detrimental to real living - placing the human soul in the realm of existence, but without life - a  modern-day zombie.  I've been a zombie. I know plenty of zombies.   I refuse to be a member of the walking dead.

What is procrastination?  It's  pretty much putting off what needs to be done for another day or another time, postponing the inevitable.  I recently went through a season of procrastination, mostly so that I could heal.  The pain of the major life changes I experienced was often too much for me to handle at once, and as a way to cope, I'd ignore what needed to be faced.  It didn't make the situation go away, it just gave me a little more time to deal with it.

But that time is over now, and I can no longer put off the goals, dreams, ideals, and expectations I have for my life.  I've dried my tears and I'm plowing ahead.  I can't afford to procrastinate any longer.  While it served to allow me time to heal, I also saw the direct effect it  had on my goals and dreams - it kills them, drowns them, and bogs them down.

Life is meant to be lived.  We only get one.  Quit waiting for something to happen, quit procrastinating, quit hanging out with other procrastinators, change your environment, make things happen, move, do, dream, but most all - learn to love yourself and become your biggest motivator.  If you believe in you, then you can do anything.

Till next time,
~T.L. Gray

Perfect Conditions for Procrastinators

I’m not often a procrastinator. I’m a go-getter, mover, shaker, but I’ve never been a candlestick maker.  I get things done.  I’ve been charging through life, well, pretty much my whole life.  I’m a decision maker.  Once I’ve made a decision, I’m almost impossible to stop.  Why am I that way?  Maybe because I’ve always had to fight for everything in my life, nothing was just handed to me, and often, even what I had was taken from me.  Most people call this drive.  I call it determination – settling the mind to a specific task or course of action, and follow through.

However, this year, I’ve found myself participating in a lot of procrastination.  Not because I was incapable, but numb.  I don’t apologize for it.  I understand the need for the season.  What I’ll never understand, is those who choose to stay in it for long periods of time. 

Week after week, I watch the same group of writers talk, play, argue, and proceed to give everyone else in the world their advice and opinion on every subject, YET do no writing.  OR, they start writing, but when the first tug of difficulty appears, instead of pushing through it, they go back to all those other devices that enable their procrastination.  I know, I did it, too.  This really breaks my heart.  There’s so much talent and potential wasted in the land of procrastination.

When I’ve tried to inspire some of these procrastinators to get to work, I’m met with excuse after excuse, as if they’re waiting on the perfect opportunity to fall in their lap that will magically give them the energy and drive to do what they need to do.  Don’t get me wrong, I love magic, I just don’t believe in it.

There will NEVER be a perfect time.  The moment you’re waiting for, the one that will inspire you and give you what you need to write, will be the moment you CHOOSE to act.  I can almost guarantee it won’t be ideal, convenient, or opportunistic, but requiring determination, dedication and drive.  It will hurt, stretch you, test you and often push you to your limit, but it is only one moment, and it too shall pass.

I’ve heard writers tell me they only write when their muse hits them with overwhelming strength.  These are also the same writers still working on the same story year after year.  Set aside all those things that distract you and pull you away from doing what you know must be done.  Push through the walls that pop up in front of you.  Dig in.  I’m not telling you something I don’t know anything about.  I have to do the same thing EVERY DAY.  I had to do it this morning.  I have to do it now just to finish this blog post.

Silence the phone.  Close down your internet browser.  Don’t read the forums.  Close your email (don’t just minimize), cut off the television or music, lock your door and sit down and make one small goal to accomplish.  THEN, make yourself push through that one goal.  Stop waiting for the perfect moment, because it’s already here. 

Till next time,

~T.L. Gray