For anyone who tends to lean into the tendency of perfection, they may also notice that procrastination likes to accompany it. Easily distracted to other things, the task at hand gets left behind (for now) and it appears that time management is the issue.
But perhaps something else is in the undercurrent. If we believe that we must do something perfectly, look perfect in our appearance, or have others see us as perfect, we are in binding situation. Our rational minds tell us that it is impossible to achieve perfection and that perfection is relative and subjective. Yet our internal voice tells us we must achieve it. Tied to our self-worth, we will struggle to let go of the idea that “to get it perfect is the only way.”
When we proscrastinate, it is often because we are having trouble facing a difficult emotion, or we fear a negative one. Trying to bring logic to a perfectionistic brain is not always an easy task, and so procrastination slips in to help. By the eleventh hour, on the cusp of a deadline, we complete the task and accept it as such. We are able to externalize the outcome of it as potentially not being perfect because we “ran out of time.”
We are much better served to begin to work on the perfectionist tendencies that hold the reins on procrastination. Exploring where the perfection need arose, why it is tied to a core belief, how it has served us, are all important to uncover and absorb. From there, it becomes about changing our internal dialogue; bringing us to a realistic expectation as to what achievement and success look like.
Perfection and procrasination are partners in crime. Perhaps it is time we gave them some space from each other 🙂
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