There is a task that needs to get done.  It has a deadline; yet I find myself working on everything else EXCEPT for what I know I should really be working on.  I have to ask myself:

What am I resisting?

Like most women, resistance comes in many forms.  Today, what I’m clinging to is procrastination.  You will never hear me say “I won’t schedule my annual doctor’s appointment”.  What I say is “I will schedule my doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”

Tomorrow will come and go with thoughts late in the day of “Their office is closed; I’ll call for sure tomorrow”.  What’s funny is that I don’t have problems remembering to make an annual doctor’s appointment for my daughter.

So, I have to ask myself “What am I resisting?”  Why is it that something so important keeps being ‘forgotten?’  Is it because self-care is not a priority for me?  Is it because I’m getting older and the chance of illness increases?  Is it because I feel perfectly fine, so why bother? (Which is really saying that self-care not a priority.)

What I find comforting is that I see this similar internal battle going on with most women.  It doesn’t have to be about a doctor’s appointment; it could be beginning a job search, starting that exercise program or even making dinner.

When I find myself letting it slip my mind or putting it off, I know what I need to do.

I just need to get started.

I need to pick up the phone, drive to the gym, or pull out the cookbook.  I need to do action.  What I find for me and other women is that once I get started, I’m fine.

I love to run and will run outdoors in winter as long as it’s dry and the wind-chill is above 20.  When I can’t run outdoors I will ride my indoor bike.  What I have been finding this winter is all the excuses why I can’t find time to exercise and it doesn’t matter if it’s outside or on my indoor bike.

And then I wonder why I’ve added a few pounds when I step on the scale!

Once I take action and get myself about 5 minutes into whichever exercise I choose, I think to myself “This feels great, why do I resist?”  And then I receive the ultimate reward of seeing my scale numbers starting to drop when I am regular about my exercise.

You would think that would be enough to keep me motivated.  But then resistance starts kicking in again when my calendar starts getting full.  Ugh!

I’ve come to the acceptance that procrastination will never go away for me; what I need to be on the watch for are my catch phrases:  I’ll get to it later, tomorrow, next week and my all-time favorite “I’m tired!”