The sweet stress of procrastination. Mmm. Does it make you feel warm and peaceful inside?
No?
Okay, I admit that might be a stretch. But is it all bad? Putting off until tomorrow what can be done today?
This is my first adult memory of biting off more than I could chew creatively. With zero cross stitch experience, I confidently purchased this counted kit to make for my husband. Oh, not just zero experience in that, but mostly zero in all handiwork arts.
I made it through all of one row or so. Then, like any self-respecting quitter would do, I called Grandma. And passed it on. Then, she passed it on, until eventually my aunt saved Christ-a-mas.
The years have passed and I have become proficient at taking on countless more projects that I have zero experience in. Only now, I don’t quit. I may never finish, but I am okay with that. Process is a pleasing, albiet sometimes frustrating, place to sit.
Why you ask? (I asked myself the same question)
I love to learn, to experience, to create. I am not afraid, generally, of trying new things. I also am not afraid of dumping what doesn’t fulfill me. I used to wonder if that made me quitter supreme. In some instances, yes.
Mostly? No. It makes me creative, delightfully so.
That procrastination often drives me nuts, but only me. I don’t leave others hanging. I don’t promise things and not deliver to commitments. For my eyes only though, procrastination abounds. And I am learning to look at the positives.
My kind of delay involves careful thought, consideration of many angles, all potential possibilities. I am a deep thinker and that can take a while. Putting off until tomorrow… if the creativity isn’t ready to display itself, then tomorrow it is.
I’ll be frank, sometimes this can be frustrating, the inability to focus and produce. I seldom have one thing going, in any area. 7 books reading at the same time. 4 projects all clamoring for space and attention. You get the picture. But…
When it comes? It will be worth the wait. I know this now, and I appreciate the surprise my own deferment can bring.
How does your brain flow?
Christa Sterken 