Avoidance

I know I am not alone here. I have a big project I am working on for the studio (details on that revealed later!) I’m excited about it but I’m also a bit nervous and uncertain just how to do it. It’s a challenge for sure and one I’ve wanted but it will require me to grow, stretch and push myself. So what have I been doing when I should be working on this .. just about everything else!

My house is pretty darn clean, Emails are caught up. I prepped some food this afternoon. I picked up some books from the library. Laundry is done. I think you get my drift … I have found other things to do to avoid doing the thing that scares me a little.

With anything new and anything that takes us out of our comfort zone, there is a chance of failure. As long as I don’t complete the task, I haven’t failed. So I’ve chosen other things to do that I can’t fail at - like laundry. I’m using other tasks to avoid doing the thing. I am using other tasks to limit my risk of failure.

The problem with this tactic is the thing is still there. I still need to do it. I am wasting time at this point. I have resources that can help me if I get stuck. I am not alone. And even if I falter a bit I can course correct.

I believe we us avoidance when it comes to a diet or lifestyle change.,too. As long as we put off starting our healthy eating plan - we haven’t failed. The possibility of success is still there - we just aren’t ready for it. The same goes for our workout routines. It’s a lot easier to talk about committing to a regular Pilates practice than it is to step up and do it.

Once we begin we will probably stumble some. We’ll eat poorly at a tailgate party. We’ll miss a few workouts in a row. Have we failed? NOPE! We’ve stumbled a bit and that will inform our determination moving forward. We learn from that stumble and are reminded why we made this choice and took on this challenge.

Last night I only had about an hour before I needed to be somewhere. It would have been really easy to convince myself this was not enough time to work on my project. Instead I tackled one small piece of it and it went quicker than I thought. It got me more excited for the rest. I know the risk is worth it. Now is the time to stop avoiding and dive in.

Wish me luck! and Good luck to you, too!