I’ve already told you how I feel about procrastination:
“When you intentionally put off doing something, that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you; it means there’s something wrong with the situation!”
And I truly believe this to be true.
Which is why when I recently found myself struggling to pack for my upcoming 3-month adventure to South America, I knew something was up.
But what?
Everything’s been planned out. I have a safe place to stay when I arrive. I was in South America for 6 months last year, so I have a pretty good handle on what to expect when I arrive.
But something’s been off. And after sitting on my yoga mat for 2 hours this morning, I was finally able to label the emotion I’ve been feeling for several weeks now:
Fear.
After more contemplation, I realized that this fear is mostly surrounding the question of whether or not I’ve made the right decision to head to South America at this time in my life.
As you may already know, my life has been in transition for quite some time now.
Is 3 more months in a temporary location really what I need right now?
Fear.
I acknowledge that this is a valid question to be asking. However when I made the decision to take this trip, there was zero fear. So what happened?
Well, I’m sure you can relate to this: Over the last few weeks, the trust I have in my own decision making abilities has caused self-doubt.
As a result, I’ve put off packing. And for weeks, I’ve been procrastinating on tightening up the last minute details of my trip.
Well, it’s go time. My flight leaves in less than 48 hours.
As I sat on my mat this morning, the thought of canceling this whole trip seemed very tempting.
Oh how nice it would be to just continue on with my life and not make a change!
Sounds familiar, right? This can happen with decisions of any magnitude: The element of self-doubt can really make things scary!
A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders as I thought about how much easier it would be to just plug along and not follow through with my plans.
But this bliss didn’t last long.
I know better than to make decisions from a place of fear. It’s choosing temporary relief over long term happiness: NEVER a good choice.
So, in spite of the twisting fear brewing in my gut, I decided to spend the day packing. And I am proud to say that I am almost done.
Now THAT’S a relief!
Recently, I came across this quote:
“There are four ways you can handle fear. You can go over it, under it, or around it. But if you are ever to put fear behind you, you must walk straight through it. Once you put fear behind you. Leave it there.” – Donna Favors
This week, I am choosing to walk straight through my fears. And I hope you will join me.
Tell me in the comments below how YOU will walk through fear this week!
