Most procrastinators do not think of themselves as perfectionists. “If I’m a perfectionist, I would get things done,” they say. Not necessarily. In fact, perfectionism can lead to “starts and spurts” performance, meaning that an individual goes on a cleaning spree, or attacks a task with great energy and then slumps back in exhaustion after having exasperated, irritated, or alienated everyone around. Perfectionism has also been found to be strongly related to depression and an extremely critical spirit (either self or other critical).
What is perfectionism, then? Perfectionism is a form of rigidity or inflexibility that is marked by three major characteristics: (1) The intense desire to jump in and do things yourself because others just can’t do it right; (2) the insistent attitude that you wouldn’t even start on something if you can’t do it well; and (3) the profound need for closure, indicated by agitation or discomfort should something be left “hanging”. Each of these characteristics “drives” the perfectionist to procrastinate. For perfectionistic procrastinators, the first step in dealing with procrastination is acknowledging and disliking these three basic tendencies. Then practical solutions can be applied systematically.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. As I sat here this morning, thinking about my new book “idea”, I discovered the real reason I’m not writing it down. It won’t be perfect. It could be done better and probably has. Why set my sights on a goal that isn’t worth reaching?
I guess the easy comeback to these statements is – so what what someone else thinks, I should write because I like doing it. Sounds good, but let’s not kid ourselves. My goal is to be good enough for a house to want to publish my story. It’s one thing if I think I’ve written that perfect story and no one accepts it. It’s quite another if I think everything I’m writing is crap and never sees the final page. If I didn’t care about the publishing part, I’d write right here and be perfectly happy.
Of course these thoughts all add to my inability to put pen to paper. Obviously, if I don’t even try, nothing will ever get written.
~Your Ever Faithful Procrastinator~
