I’m having the less-desirable effects from travel this week. First jet-lag, now motivation lag… It’s Wednesday, and I’m absolutely dragging my feet in regards to getting back to work. I am in a mode where I would like to do practically anything than do real work (like write this blog).
Brené Brown calls activities involved with procrastination “numbing,” and she includes it in the armory of things that shield us from vulnerability. Perhaps we are cruising through Facebook (one of my favorite procrastination methods) so much to avoid the anxiety involved with how much work we have on our plate. Or perhaps we are flipping through channels because we are avoiding confronting a loved one about something that has been bothering us… Etc., etc…
I do like that she points out the difference between pleasure and numbing. Because sometimes I go on Facebook, and I really enjoy interacting with my Facebook friends and their posts. I am actively engaged and enjoying it. I’m not just killing time… So there are times when Facebook is a true pleasure to me. It’s when I start doing it for the “wrong reasons” that it becomes problematic. Brené offers these questions in her book Daring Greatly to discern the difference:
“Are my choices comforting and nourishing my spirit, or are they temporary reprieves from vulnerability and difficult emotions ultimately diminishing my spirit? Are my choices leading to my Wholeheartedness, or do they leave me feeling empty and searching?”
I find that I get better at answering those questions, and stopping myself when I notice that I’m numbing myself to other things. But I still fall into those patterns sometimes.
So here’s a call out to those who fall into motivation lags and times of excessive procrastination. Surely they happen to us all. All we can do is live daringly, admit to those times, and do our best to pull ourselves back to the present and back to living fully.
Namaste.