A note from Donna -
Well, finally I have completed "The Torturer's Bible" - who knew that 30 pages would take 5 times as many days?! To those lovely people who are at the front of the queue, you will be receiving your link to download the ebook in the next couple of days. The rest of you will just have to wait til next week. If you can't wait, drop me an e-mail with "I can't wait that long, give me the link right now" in the subject.
- When No Action is the Right Action -
When was the last time you said to yourself "I really should have done that by now"? Maybe about your work, your fitness, your clutter clearing, your millionaire status? How often have you berated yourself for a task undone, a plan not put into action, a goal not yet achieved? Berating yourself is usually an attempt to motivate. Sadly, it doesn't work too well. Mostly, it is demotivating and demoralising - you end up feeling like a failure for not having done whatever you thought you should be doing.
What if it was ok that you had taken no action? What if there was a reason for you to be inactive on this for a while? No, not that you are a lazy slob! A good reason. Maybe even one that you don't know yet. Readers who've been with me for a while may remember an article last year about procrastination - in my view there are 2 reasons to procrastinate: not ready or don't want to.
Don't want to is easy, but not ready? How do you spot that one if you think you should be ready?! Let me give you an example. I've been writing an ebook for MONTHS…and I 'should' have finished it long ago! It's the first in a long line of ebooks and audio programs…and this first step has taken (what seems to me to be) forever! But guess what? I wasn't ready. It wasn't ready.
Now I'd have sworn blind that I was ready all along…and I would have been totally wrong. This project is now finished, and I can see clearly that to have rushed it would have been a mistake. I can see now that those periods of seeming inaction were really 'simmer-time' - where the ideas, knowledge and vision were all coming together to make the next steps really obvious.
This happens absurdly often with clients too. They will be berating themselves for not having taken some action, then with hindsight they will realise that the delay factor was a good thing. I believe that we are always doing our best, and I also believe that this is a friendly universe. Put the two together, and maybe inaction is the best action to take?
- Something To Play With -
Think of a project you have been procrastinating on. If this delay was FOR you, and a good thing, why might that be? Want to share how this article affects you? E-mail me. I love to hear from readers, and will respond to all e-mails.
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2 comments:
Hi Donna,
I have taken a break from writing on my blog and I viewed this as laziness.
But actually I had nothing important to say and I don`t want to bore other people with stories about work and what I had for breakfast.
At the same time I haven`t made any progress in writing my book. I`m still not sure what to write - maybe I should write anyway to get in the process of writing.
And now, while I have two weeks off, I enjoy doing nothing at all!
No action clearly is the right action.
X
Christina
Hi Christina!
Yes, no action is the right action. When you don't have something to say, say nothing! Personally, I would write something - perhaps a journal (diary) for yourself, just to keep you writing.
And perhaps ask the questions: What would i love to write about? How is this delay helping me? What do I need to be in place for me to be able to write with inspiration? For example, for the last one, it could be that you need to be full of energy, healthy, in a good 'head space' etc.
I know I can't write when I am down, and after all the deaths this past year, I've been creatively stalled a few times! it's ok though, because I get to recognise that it's all good!
Love
Donna.x
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