In the article You Aren’t Lazy— You’re Terrified, Jenni Berrett discusses how perfectionism has hurt her productivity, and how it keeps her from doing work. At first while reading this, I did not identify with her point at all, it just did not resonate with me. Until I thought about how I was procrastinating last year.
I was working on getting my transfer papers ready, and trying to prepare an audition, all while taking 19 credits. I was stressed beyond belief, but I was not doing anything about it. When I went to my philosophy professor to ask for a letter of recommendation, he asked how I was. I gave him the typical “I’m fine,” answer, but he reiterated the question. I was not sure what to say. He looked at me and said “David you haven’t stopped fidgeting since you got in here, and you look exhausted.” Again I was speechless. He went on to say, “I have found that anxiety thrives when we are inactive. To expel this anxiety, you need to take action, and do what you’re anxious about.”
I was shocked, and a little skeptical, but I took his advice, and it helped me immensely. I think about that advice all the time when I am feeling anxious about an assignment or a paper or a concert. If I simply sit here and worry, nothing will change, but if I do something about my anxiety, I can tackle it head on.
Berrett’s point is very similar, she suggests that it takes more effort to not do the thing that makes you anxious, than to just sit down and do it. I completely agree with her, not only does it take less effort, you (at least I) feel so much better after I’ve done the stressful thing.
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