Delaying & Replaying

Cassette tapes have nearly become extinct, giving way to more sophisticated technology (those that don't require a pencil).  The one above - and, yes, it's a link to Amazon where tape recorders/players like these can still be purchased - reminds me of those I saw and used in my childhood.  Now that I've "dated myself," why does this near-obsolete machinery matter?

In many ways, our minds work like this tape recorder.  We catch data as it comes, including plenty of background noise, and it's stored by our brains; but recall can be another matter entirely.  Distractions and distortions in the noise of our lives only make this more problematic...especially when those distractions are forms of procrastination and rumination over unpleasantness.

I'm guilty of delaying what needs doing and replaying what needs dismissed.  Fact is, sometimes I want things to be different and I want to avoid things that seem difficult.  As humans, we are wired to avoid pain and attend pleasurable activities, items, and interactions.  That's great for surviving; it's not so great for thriving, living a life beyond existence. 

Often, whenever I acquiesce to the essential tasks I've sought to evade, I find the reality of the experience is far less painful or difficult than the anxious mental detours I took trying to avoid them.  Phone calls to be made, errors to correct, paperwork to file...we all have our own form of nemeses that haunt our awareness at the edges like the background noise and interference we used to get trying to tape (record) something from the radio as it played.  It's static on our mental airwaves; but we can eliminate it and elevate ourselves to better behavioral technology.  It's time for an upgrade.

Jotting with Johnna

• What evasion tactics have you employed in relation to your overall wellness?
• Is there a conversation you need to have, a task you need to tackle, resistance you need to reconcile?
• How might delaying and/or replaying be wasting time you could otherwise utilize more productively?
• Who would be a helpful accountability partner in the transition from procrastination to productivity?
• List three things you can do today to eliminate some of the static of putting off what needs done.

Remember:  you are so very worthy of the discipline it takes to live a life free of static, a life less cluttered and chaotic; and it only takes a bit of effort to make it so, repeated often.

Stay tuned.  Stay focused.  Stay well.