Procrastinating? The Reason Might Surprise You

I had an MRI this morning for a knee injury that isn’t healing as it should. When I headed downstairs to leave (stairs are usually a killer!), I noticed my knee felt the best it had in a long time.

“Maybe I don’t need this done after all,” I briefly thought, looking at the time. My appointment is in an hour. I’m not going to cancel now.

Why, after 10 months, isn’t my knee hurting?

What’s up with that?

Maybe because I finally listened.

Maybe because I finally took action.

Isn’t that how it goes? Your toothache disappears on the day of your dentist appointment. Your hair looks fantastic as you get ready to go to the salon. You’ve finally worked up the courage to have a tough conversation with your friend and suddenly she’s attentive to your needs and respectful of your boundaries.

Coincidence? Nope. More evidence of the ongoing energetic conversation that is happening all around you.

When something in your life is trying to get your attention and you ignore it, the louder or more annoying it becomes until you can’t deny it anymore. Whether that’s your business, your marriage, or your body, learning to respond to the whispers so they don’t turn into screams is a key to staying in the flow and not getting sidetracked with a lot of fits and starts.

It takes much more energy to resist something than to handle it. And the longer you resist it, the bigger it becomes, which makes you more likely to resist it, which makes it feel bigger, which makes you resist it, and round and round you go.

Because inaction is as telling as action sometimes, consider why you might be stalled or resisting the steps you need to take. Why did it take me 10 months to have a follow-up with an orthopedic doctor?

As I get quiet and really check in, what’s coming up first is superficial stuff like, “My co-pay for a specialist is expensive,” and “He’ll probably just send me to physical therapy, so I look online instead to find some exercises.”

Digging deeper, I probably didn’t want to face the fact that my knees may not be as strong as they used to be, which rolls into dealing with getting older, which rolls into other negative beliefs about aging.

Do you see how it’s no longer about making a doctor’s appointment? There’s always more to it.

The good news? Just knowing there’s more to it can be enough to kick your butt into gear. Taking a moment to scratch beneath the surface is a powerful act of self-love and, as a result, motivation.

My MRI may show nothing major wrong with my knee at all, but the procedure will still have been worth it. Having it done sends a message to myself that my needs are important; that my care is important; that I am important. And when I operate from that place, little can stand in my way.

I’d love to hear your take on all of this. Join the conversation on my blog.

Photo credit: Anomalily via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC