How do we Define Procrastination?

On a recent interview I was asked, 'What is some mainstream advice you disagree with?'

My answer? Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.

Get out of here with that shit. Seriously.

Life is work. Getting to know ourselves is work. Work is work. Parenting is work. Love takes work. Feeling joy can take work.

Which is why we don't just do what we feel like doing. We do what needs to be done to feel proud of ourselves. We do what we need want to do so as not to overwhelm our future selves.

When we walk through life this way, we act with integrity. The definition of which is when our actions and our values align.

If I am willy nilly with my commitments, I'm out of integrity with you and myself. If I often push off what I need to do today until tomorrow, I'm sacrificing my values. And, no wonder, I'm left wondering why I'm not as successful as I want to be when I was just trying to make my life easier.

Of course we take breaks.

Of course we rest.

Of course we are flexible.

And...

We aren't taskmasters.

We don't needlessly push through.

We don't ignore what we're feeling.

And, we do the work.

Doing the work is a privilege. Whether that's writing a blog, editing a podcast, closing a deal, writing a script, having the hard conversation, pulling out your journal and writing about what you're actually feeling, picking up the phone and asking for help, going to the meeting because you said you would, or being brave enough to share your idea.

Adam Grant tells us that procrastination isn't about being lazy, it's about avoiding negative emotions.

You're not lazy. In fact, I know you work very hard at many things. If you struggle with putting up walls and not avoiding the emotional work, I can support you in a free coaching consultation, the Pressure-Free Success Session. Sign up to get clarity on what's working and what isn't in your professional life, and build tools and strategies to stop beating yourself up and feeling so much pressure so you can actually enjoy your many successes.

Feeling stuck is hard. Thinking you're lazy is hard. Wanting more and not knowing what more means, or how to get it, is hard. 

When people say, 'Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.' I think what they really mean is, 'Do what you love and you'll work lots and lots of days in your life that will twist and turn you inside out and, in doing so, you will create a life more beautiful than you can imagine.'

Here's to being full of ourselves. The promise was never that we won't have to put in the work.

I love you,

Sarah xx