Those of you have been following me know that I like to-do lists for a couple of reasons. They keep me focused and organized, but more importantly I love the satisfaction of crossing something off the list when it’s complete. Yes, it may be silly but it feels like a sense of accomplishment.
What I do find about my lists is that there are some items that I have no hesitation whatsoever to attack, but there are others that seem to carry over from day-to-day. Yes, I admit it there are some where I procrastinate. I just have an unwillingness to do them. The question I ask myself then, is why?
When I look at those items they really aren’t that bad, and some will take no time at all. However, I still have resistance to move forward on them. If I am honest with myself I can usually uncover the reason why. There are a few: I am afraid I won’t do the task well; the task is new to me so it is out of my comfort zone; and if I succeed at the task, are there expectations that come along with that success?
If I explore my reasons, with each I am anticipating what could happen, living in the future moment versus the present. When I can just focus on being in the here and now and just do it, whatever that task is will get done. And guess what? Most of the time, yes most, the task was no big deal. Even better, I feel great when I get to mark it off my list! So I continue to work on embracing all the tasks that make it to my to-do list and moving towards crossing them out. Sometimes it requires me to bring myself into the present moment versus worrying about the future, and then all is ok.
As far as my last reason for fighting moving forward…you know the one about success that may seem strange. Reality is success can be scary. More importantly success can be exciting so I continue to embrace that as well.
So next time there are things you are moving down your to-do list or avoiding, maybe explore why. No matter what though tackle those items and feel the accomplishment that comes with marking it as DONE!