Does anyone else have a task they avoid like the plague? 

I do.

Hand laundry. 

For reasons I’ve never pinned down, I walk around it, sidestep it, won’t meet its eye…as it lies in a pile, reproaching me.

Months go by.

And then, when I do it—no matter how I’ve let it pile up—it usually takes about 20 minutes.

If you have an insight about this, feel free to send it along. 

The thrust of this post, however, is that—in my experience—dreading is always worse than doing. 

Do you agree?

Think about the last time you avoided an uncomfortable conversation, an awkward lunch, a ‘fun’ family night…. When the time came to do it was it as wretched as you expected?

I’m guessing not.

The dreading was worse than the doing.

Now I’m not talking about the times you pause to assess your capacity, check in with your state, get in touch with your role. 

That’s different.

I’m talking about those moments that, honestly, aren’t a big deal but—for reasons known or unknown to you—you make into a big deal. 

OK, you may be thinking, how can I tell the difference? 

For me, the answer lives in my body.

When I’m pausing for reasons that are lazy/preposterous/deluded I have the sense of someone standing behind me on a high dive saying, “Jump!”

(Plus, there’s the dread…b/c I don’t like myself so much.)

When I am pausing to assess/double check/confirm, I have the sense of someone standing behind me saying, “Wait.” 

(And there’s a calm… maybe b/c I’m liking myself so much?)

Sound familiar?

If so, the next time you feel the dread, I recommend jumping in. 

It’s never as bad as you think.

For more on the dreading and doing and the many shades of procrastination, look at “Procrastination: A Love Story”