Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.
Finishing my Thesis
Hi, I gave a (very long!) introduction in the introductions section - "Pulling myself back from the Brink". (http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/4281) I am going to keep a log here of each day. So that I have some encouragement and record of how I am doing with getting to the end of my long due thesis.
11 August 2012
Most of the day was spent procrastinating watching tv or on the internet. I was worrying about not knowing how to start my final chapter of my thesis. It is 9.30pm now. My behaviour today has cost me $71 in tuition fees today.
I read the The Little Guide to Un-Procrastination by Leo Babauta. I am have decided to face my fears and conquer this problem slowly but surely.
I will start working in 10min slots from now for one hour and go to bed by 10.45, so that I can wake up at 6.30 everyday from tomorrow onwards.
Any other academics in here?
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Hi Jay, Thanks for
Hi Jay,
Thanks for commenting in here. What do I use the whiteboard for? :)
Cheers,
Sudheesh
Thesis, you inspire me!
Thesis,
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I need your support and example. I am so desperate right now and know that focusing on the solution helps more than focusing on the problem. Hope to connect soon.
-E ("slowpoke")
Thesis to slowpoke
Slowpoke, you can't change everythign at one go. We need to take baby steps. Sure we fail, but we try again and again. How long would we give our child to try and walk, before we say ok that's it, no more. Enough trying. We will keep encouraging him/her till they are able to walk. We should treat ourselves like that too. Dont be too hard on ourselves, allow ourselves to take baby steps, encourage ourselves, dont take falls seriously, and no that every attempt, even a failed one, is a step in the right direction. Hope u dont think im preaching, im just sharing what ive learnt and felt to be true. If you are desperate, take one step. And then another and then another. And it gets better in the long run.
Right impression
thesis, no wrong impression for me. Your conclusion isn't written yet, AND a draft of all other chapters is, glory-hallelujah!, written and mailed. That is reason for great celebration. Thank you for sharing your journey with us!!
Well done thesis!
You are doing great ! Keep it up!
Calypso
Thanks Calypso and Piqued! I
Thanks Calypso and Piqued! I hope you guys are making progress too!
December 12
December 11- 17x10
December 12 - 46x10 - Sent off draft of all chapters. Hardly any sleep. Deadline kept moving me forward as i had people waiting. No, it was partly me as well. Need to stop dragging myself down. In the end it was a mad rush, but better completed a bit shoddy than incomplete!
Need to work on conclusion, 2000 words a day till saturday.
Off to sleep! Big day tomorrow!
you are a huge inspiration!
thank you for sharing your journey and cheers to your success!
Love your courage!
Congratulations, thesis!!!!
I really admire your willingness to send off a draft of ALL CHAPTERS! You didn't let negativity hold you back from putting your work out there, even though you weren't thrilled with some bits of it. You didn't hold off to polish it a bit more or find other excuses why today shouldn't be "the" day. So, so, so happy for you!
Piqued
EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT!
EXCELLENT!
WELL DONE!!!!!!!!
Great job thesis. Enjoy your well earned sleep!Well done!
Go go impressive submitter of PhD draft!!!
So so very proud. You are doing it! You will be the next big success story on PA! ;)
Hold on there! And well done on submitting!!!!! It might be important to know for you, that when I did my final hand in I was NOT happy with my work yet. I just knew it would be "good enough" for a pass and that my sanity had to be regained!
Best of luck dear thesis buddy!
Wolke
Work today, win tomorrow.
Yee ha Thesis!
Great stuff Thesis. One of my mottoes I try to keep in mind is, GET THE RUBBISH HANDED IN. I am not meaning to suggest your stuff is rubbish of course. Just that the handing in part is really, really important! And you got lots handed in, which is marvelous! Good luck for the next push.
Hooch
Thank you all of you lovely
Thank you all of you lovely people! :) I feel so encouraged by your words and presence! May you all be happy, may all whom you love be happy, may all whom you will love be happy! May all whom you do not love also be happy! :)
December 10 - Financial Impact
December 9 - 18 x10
December 10 - 19 x10
had trouble on both days. On December 10th I realised how unproductive i was being because of my perfectionism which slows down things a lot and sometimes end up procrastinating because of that.
I also realised something very sobering. The financial impact of my procrastination/perfectionist attitude.
Financial Impact of Procrastination - 2011- 2012
1.5-2 years potential full-time pay minus earned money through part-time work = $60,000
Additional Tuition fees - $
36,000
Miscellaneous fees - $1,500
Total = $97,500
What can I learn?
-
See the financial impact of my procrastination.
We could have bought a house in my home country for that amount. We missed out on so much we could have done. We had to cut our lives down majorly and I couldnt give my loved ones some joy and happiness by taking them places and buying them things. I couldnt contribute to charity or buy myself any things. I 'didnt have time' to do anything except stress out about how much work was left and how i felt so helpless yada yada yada.
So lesson learnt ---
1. NEVER, EVER WILL I LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN BECAUSE OF MY PROCRASTINATION! Never Again as those who died in the 1940s said.
- 2. We have the potential to save a lot of money, if
we dealt with it judiciously and put it away carefully each month as you would
do with fees
- 3. im done with that person, his beliefs, his
vulnerabilites, his identity, his (perceived) weakneses etc. those beliefs led
me here and i am throwing them away now. My actions or inactions stemmed from
some basic beliefs. That is not me
Is there anything
positive about this?
1. I have learnt tools of the mind, which will help me in
decades to come instead of being that same person who just happened to go out
into the world and then learning these lessons very late in life. I still can make this life into what I want it to be.
2. I can earn that in a single year, if I learn my lesson and
become the person I will be, as a result of learning from these experience.
December 9 - Pressure cooker failure
December 7 - 33x10 thesis work, 4x10 teaching work. Time-output productivity was low as I kept getting stuck in the details.
December 8 - I didn't count coz I was rushing to send things off and do as much as possible. I did only till till C 3 and I have c 4 and C 5 to complete the next day. I think roughly beteen 35-40 x10, but cant be sure.
At the end of the day, I had a classic pressure cooker failure that I was reading about with regards to procrastination. which carried over to December 9. It got intense, because of time pressure, did a lot. And then once I sent over half of it. The pressure declined and then back to procrastination.
December 9 - So today it is 6.30pm and im still trying to start my work. I spent more time doing online teaching stuff that i needed to. I need to stop being obsessive with posting things. I can only do enough work for which I am being paid for, not more.
Ok now. Break for 20mts. Clear head.
6.50-9pm - Finish C4.
9-1.30 AM - Finish C 5.
I am taking this approach from someone's thread I was reading the other day, about keeping logs of improvements/succeses rather than just failures and log of time.
One thing I am proud of myself from yday - when I knew i wouldnt make deadline, I did not give up and do nothing as I normally would do previously. I kept going and that's whats most important.
What can i learn from pressure cooker failure - If i feel I hv done a lot and i needed to take break from work, do it consiously. Close computer, go home, go for a walk, watch a movie, something. Choose to do something else, rather than doing it as if it is out of compuilsion and then making yourself feel guilt and stress. Also don't fall for the idea of the pressure cooker, you want to make incremental change to who you are and your behaviour; not run between procrastination and time-bingeing.
Hi Thesis! Great job
Hi Thesis! Great job continuing and not giving up! I myself have done that in the past as well, but no matter what we need to keep plugging away. Good luck making it through the last bit! :)
December 7
December 6- Thesis work - 30x10, teaching work, 4x10.
Going to bed now, but i have to wake up in 5 hours to get visa stuff sorted and then have only about 7-8 hours to sort out everything. Not sure what to do.
December 7 - Plan
If I am back by 12.30pm, then I have to just do the bare essentials. Lets see.
Work on train on chapter 4.
12.30-1pm Last bit of intro
1-2.30pm - Finish oustanding C 3
3-4.30pm - Finish oustanding C 4
4.30 - 8.30 - Finish C5. - this is tight.
Courage, courage. Feel the strength of your heart, this gift. If the whole thing doesnt happen, I still need to keep moving forward as much as possible!! I must remember, its not the deadline I am working on, it's myself that i am working on. Must not get into the old pattern when deadline becomes impossible, i stop working at all.
If it doesnt happen, even sat morning is better nothing at all. And they can still read. C5 can be sent seperately at worst case.
REMEMBER, your outcome is to complete it, it is NOT perfection!
Encouragement for thesis!
Just wanted to say hello, haven't seen you in chat for a while.
You are doing so well staying positive and keeping on restarting.
Wishing you all the best with your work, may you be peaceful and productive!
Thank you Findingaway! Wish
Thank you Findingaway! :D Wish you the very best too!! I hvnt been on chat much, only occasionally but moving forward!
December 6 - Focus on others, not self
December 5 - 20x10 thesis work, 4x10 teaching work
I was having a lot of trouble yday, despite all the tools. Getting the will to implement the tools was the hard bit. But I eventually made progress because of a new thought i came to realise. so I just want to jot it down.
I think two of my primary needs is connection and contribution, i remember being very empathetic as a child, questioning the reason for suffering and sometimes weeping thinking of those who were going to bed without food for themselves, or worse, for their children. But somehow I had hid that part of me along the way. It would surface occasionaly but mostly I buried it under the experiences of my youth, and early adult life.
I had told myself that it was sucess/significance that i sought..sure thats nice, but i had forgotten about the inner child who felt, who felt so deeply and surely. That I would stand at my window at night and have tears running down my cheeks for those whom I knew not and yet ached for. And when I remembered who I was, I could feel again.
I found this prayer somewhere, while watching a speech by Mother Teresa, and I now have it as my desktop background, against a backdrop of coconut trees being lashed by a raging monsoon. Today, I realised that whenever I was feeling scared, upset, procrastinaionish, I was focussing intently on myself, my fears, my worries, me, me, me. But whenever I took a glance at this prayer below and turned my attention outwards, forgetting the self, but being in a state of 'giving; all that would cease and I would be calm and I would cease to procrastinate. It might not be magic bullet, but in the spirit of writing down everything that works for me, I HAD to write this down as well. Lest I forget. The prayer is one attributed Saint Francis I think
Wise words Thesis
Thanks for posting that Thesis. You sound like a very sensitive person, which does not make it easy, I guess, to get on in this world.
Hooch
Thank you
It shouldn't be me me me, but sometimes I am scared that is all I am capable of.
Thanks for the pause for thought
thank you for this wonderful prayer
Hi Thesis
This is a prayer which I had forgotten about, I am now going to put this on my wall.
Thank you!
Calypso
Thank u Hooch, Knitfisher,
Thank u Hooch, Knitfisher, Calypso! :)
December 4
Dec 3 - 14x10 of thesis work and 7x10 of teaching work.
Had a bad bad day at the end of the day. Decided to learn from it and recover rather than dwell in the 'feeling' of failure. Every time I FAIL, i have the opportunity to learn something new, make some distinctions, understand how to succeed. If I adopt this belief, then my lows wont feel as low as it some times tends to be.
December 4 - 23x10 - thesis work, 8x10 teaching work
Thesis
Keep up the good work. You're moving forward, so be kind to yourself!
December 4 - Final Deadline - December 17
December 4, 2012
Chapter 3 – 5.30
-10. 30pm
Chapter 4 –
1.30am
December 5, 2012
Chapter 1 – 12-
2pm
Chapter 5 – 7pm
December 5, 10pm - Email everything to Print and Deliver to
Supervisors
December 6- 10 – Finish Conclusion
December 11 – Finish formatting and start referencing
December 12 – Finish references
December 13 – Glossary, Contents page, Acknowledgements
December 14-16 – Final edits
December 17
- Submit
I need to
get in at least 45 x 10 a day to be able to do this, especially till I deliver
the Conclusion on December 10
WOW nearly there thesis!
Hi thesis. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! I remember the pressure of the last runto the line and I know how full on it all feels. Ialso know you have got yourself to this point where finishing by this date is possible throught all of your hard work and focus. I feel qproud of you and will be sending you all the very best wishes for speedy writing and editing and referencing! GO GET IT! It will be so worth it and you will have a grreat xmas break with it all done.
December 3
December 2 - 20 x 10, thesis work, 3x10 - teaching work
Some tools
Noticing my addictive behaviour and realising that there is
always a choice. Even when indulging in such behaviour, I have to notice that I choose to do it. Otherwise I am always trying to absolve myself of the blame - 'Oh i dont know what happened to me', 'Oh im compelled' etc etc. This is a comforting excuse, because then we dont have to take responsbility. I have an intuition that realising that addictive behaviour is different from 'me' is important in making change possible.
Otherwise the story about myself that i play in my head will
always be in charge. When my core belief is 'Oh I am a procrastinator', how can any change be effective because any steps to change is in direct conflict with my key belief about who I am. So I will end up taking 2 steps forward and then 1 step back because we always want to act consistent with our core beliefs and core identity.
What if my core belief is: I am always guided. Which i feel
is quite true. The challenges, obstacles, even self created ones from the past, are there for me to grow as person. I have been given these challenges, so I can step up and become a better, newer person. Without these problems/challenges, I would never become the man, I am about to become.
Proof- I have spent so much time in introspection. It has
opened my eyes to self-improvement technologies which will be an asset even when this has been overcome. I am building the tools which I can use for the rest of my life. When other challenges come up, having been through this, I
will know that I can handle it. Move! I will handle it! I am learning to face my fears instead of running from it. I have learnt the destructive patterns that has been self-created.
Vivekananda on Weakness
There was once a baby lion left by its dying mother among some sheep. The sheep fed it and gave it shelter. The lion grew apace and said "Ba-a-a" when the sheep said "Ba-a-a".
One day another lion came by. "What do you do here?" said the second lion in astonishment: for he heard the sheep-lion bleating with the rest. "Ba-a-a," said the other. "I am a little sheep, I am a little sheep, I am frightened." "Nonsense!" roared the first lion, "come with me; I will show you."
And he took him to the side of a smooth stream and showed him that which was reflected therein."You are a lion; look at me, look at the sheep, look at yourself."
And the sheep-lion looked, and then he said, "Ba-a-a, I do not look like the sheep — it is true, I am a lion!" and with that he roared a roar that shook the hills to their depths.
That is it. We are lions in sheep's clothing of habit, we are hypnotised into weakness by our surroundings.
Ye are the Children of God, the sharers of immortal
bliss, holy and perfect beings. Ye divinities on earth-sinners! It's a sin to call someone so; it's a standing libel on human nature. Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you're sheep; you're souls immortal, spirits free, blest and eternal; ye are not matter, ye are not bodies; matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter.
Thesis, thanks for your powerful must-read-again post!
In deep gratitude for your December 3rd post!
Im glad you found it useful
Im glad you found it useful movingalong. It's a bit annoying that this is turning into a journalling thing rather than on just work alone as it is takes a bit of time to type out everything. But i figured if i write these things down now, i can come back to it in the future and so it may be time well spent. This way i have the thoughts in my head on paper and a blueprint to get out of a tough place in the future, if ever that happens.
@thesis re: logging vs. journaling, etc.
I can relate to that dilemma, too.
I've learned I don't have to write stuff all the time. Sometimes, it's more important to get the actual TASK done, so I don't write. At other times, journaling helps me process through blocks.
What works for me is to check in with higherpower and decide at any moment whether it's most useful at that moment to write
It varies from time to time, so I just check in with higherpower for each instance.
December 1 - Connecting to HP and Power Virtues.
30 November - 13 x10
Dec 1 - 21 x10
Today i was falling into old patterns and what really helped me pull out of it late in the evening was restablishing connection with my higher power. I placed my hand on my heart, both hands, and felt it beat. I closed my eyes and thought about the strength of this heart. How the higher power which works through me has guided me along paths even without me realising. I asked for Him to fill me with courage and strength and at the same time, I focused on the inner Self. The 'I' behind the name and the physical body that I possess. That filled me with calmness and serenity and I stopped focussing on the negativities. I also asked for guidance and for Him to take over and work through me completely.
Power Virtues for myelf
Power virtues that I want to build which if I master, will obliterate any weakness/negative traits that stand between me and absolute success.
1) Courage, to face any obstacle in my path, the belief that i can handle it
2) Spiritual Connection that I call upon to connect me to my Creator who has put me on this plane of existence for whatever reason. Being grateful and realising that it is He who works through me and I will let Him be in charge whatever season it might be.
3) Determination, the absolute belief in myself and God that when I say I can do this, it WILL BE DONE!
4) Compassion...so that my courage and determination is tempered with kindness for others and for myself, so that I can forgive others and myself and move on.
30 November - Use of Physiology to Break Procrastination Ritual
29 November - 29x10 mts done. Again I did not get into work and start working til about 2.30 or 3pm. I also wasted some time in between when i was feeling a bit uncertain and unfocussd and procrastination-ish.
The thing I use the most (apart from empowering questions) to put me in state especially when i feel like procrastinating or i am in the midst of procrastinating is using my body effectively to change my physiology (i.e. posture, gestures, facial expressions) rapidly to get myself confident, motivated and recharged.
When you are really struggling and caught in a procrastination loop, this is the most effective thing, more effective than questions or rational thinking. Again the difficulty is getting urself to do it when you are in that sort of mental state where you cant pull yourself out of it.
But when i actually do it, i.e. force myself out of my chair despite not wanting to, it actually ends up helping me get back on track again. What I actually do, it depends, but usually involves clapping hands rapidly, or pumping my fist, saying YES YES YES with passion, even slapping your chest like some crazy-ass wrestler on a fake show. Sounds dumb, but its the fastest way to interrupt the procrastination ritual pattern that i am playing on an endless loop within me. And it actually leaves you quite pumped enough to do at least 5min of work, and then the momentum actually carries you a lot forward.
It also helps after that (having broken the pattern and put yourself in a better state), to ask some empowering questions, what can i do now which will make me feel better, what do i get if i do this? How would that make me feel?
Usually both of this get me juiced enough for another 5 or 6x10. Then it is a matter of repeating again and again throughout the day...haha It helps that I have my own office space since the last few weeks.
Hi, thesis!
Hi, thesis!
You have been doing amazing work! I am really inspired by your process. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Starting today, I'll also check-in with what I have been doing in terms of this daunting thesis.
Best of luck!
Karasu
Hi Karasu, it's still up
Hi Karasu, it's still up and down quite a bit but making progress and importantly, not allowing the lows to get to me as much. And trying to snap out of it faster rather than being miserable and allowing myself to feel impotent.
In solidarity with your determination to grit teeth and move forward!
Interesting
This is an intereting point Thesis: we often try to rationalize our way into doing things we don't feel like, as if we can convince ourselves through argument that we shouldn't feel the way we do (about work). I always thought inthe past that if only I could convince myself I had to work, I would. But I don't, of course.
But the method you describe here I find intriguing. Back when I was on forums that would address social anxiety, people would describe methods such as forcibly pairingthoguhts of confidence with small physical actions. The theory was that if you spent enough time meditating on an image of being confident while simultaneously say, touching your earlobe (for example), that action would become imbued with that psychological state. So went the theory.
Maybe something similar is going on here. Personally, I haven't yet explored it much, beyond having some "work music" that works as a moderate treatment.
Anchoring
Hi rednotdead,
It's pretty much what you described. We already have our empowered/excited/motivated ways of sitting, standing, talking. It's about using those existing anchors to break through. Creating new anchors like you say by associating empowering thoughts/past sucesses with certain sensations is also something very useful. You can look up 'anchoring' or 'neuro associative conditioning'. That's what it's called. It only works when you can summon up intensity of emotion and then anchor when you are right at the peak of the emotion and body state rather than focusing on 'time spent'. That's what i have read. It could vary for different persons i guess.
28 November
27 November - 24 x10
I didnt go to sleep on time. I went to bed and started using my phone which became compulsive and i stayed up very late in the end and slept only in the morning, effectivelty screwing up my next day.Learnt not to use phone once in bed. Just go to sleep.
I was frustrated also because i was trying to do work till late and my mind was tired and i kept trying to do more work and that just ended up wasting more and more time when i could get more done next morning with a clear head. And this turned out to be true. Lesson - when tired, dont persist . You will save more time by starting early.
28 November
9x10 - Had some family stuff to deal with so that took up time in the evening. Used phone again but for about 45mts before going to bed. Cant do that anymore.
Teaching work not counted. That took up a while too. Need to be careful about timing about online teaching.
27 November
26 November - 32 x 10 mts on thesis work. 3x10 on legitiamte teaching stuff. Chapter almost complete. Tomorrow I need to complete the next chapters revision
Again, my start to the day was bad until I forced myself to move. Didnt start properly till 6.30pm. I was using online teaching to distract myself. Must check it only during specified times. I get paid only 2 hours a week for it. Remember that.
Tomorrow I will rectify things by moving early with purpose. There were so many times today during the evening when I was tempted. But kept bringing thoughts back to positive things before it got out of hand. I also thought about how this is the home stretch and how she took care of me so long, now its my turn to take charge and get this done, so she can stop worrying. And thinking about work while taking a break is very helpful. Also thinking about Self/God. Made a new anchor for creativity which is helpful I think.
wow wow wow you tripled your speed of progress!!!
Congratulations thesis to your great progress and almost finishing another chapter!!
You can do it!! It's still November!!
;) your old friend Wolke
Work today, win tomorrow.
26 November
25 November - 34x10 thesis work. 4x10- teaching related work.
I started work properly only at 7.30pm but worked late till early morning. Being in the present, asking positive empowering questions and the minute unplesant thoughts come up, noticing it and changing thoughts really help.
It is questions which direct our focus.
@ Thesis
I hope you dont mind me asking, what would be an example of a 'positive empowering question'? This seems to be something you find helpful and I would like to know what it is so that I could try it. I know you are busy right now! So, only if you have time to answer.
I am impressed how you are really grinding on with this Thesis!
v Best,
H
Positive Empowering Questions
Hi Hooch, this is the second time i have been building some momentum after doing the same early on in September and then going really slow in between. So I am trying to keep that going forward. If you noticed, in between there were so many days that I didnt get much done because of anxiety, worry, compulsive procrastination etc.
What I say below is gleaned from multiple sources and i didn't think it up:
Questions are a way to direct our focus. Usually when I struggle, it is because I am focussing on the largeness of the project, how time has passed, how it is difficult, on my past behaviour etc etc etc. In a way what we are doing with all of these is we are already evaluating the scenario or in other words, asking questions without even noticing it. Questions like, can I really do it? Why is it so hard for me? Why did i screw up again ysterday? Why didnt I do it sooner? How will I ever manage this? Why am I always like this? In each case, our brain turns to the past and pulls out ready answers to give you all the reasons why you CAN'T do it. That's what our brain does. By asking negative questions (even without realising we are doing it), we direct our attention to our old patterns.
Instead we ask empowering postivie questions such as What can I do right this moment, which will make me feel better? How will I feel when I complete this little task? What are the real reasons why I really want to get this done, how will that feel? What can I learn from my failure yesterday and how can I make it better today? What can I do today to move forward AND ENJOY the process at the same time? What am I grateful about in my life right now? Who do I love and who loves me? Why do I love this person?
So the point is not just to ask questions, but to answer them clearly and consciously. Ideally we can create 5 custom built questions to ask ourselves first thing in the morning upon waking up, and what these questions do is, it directs your focus to thoughts which empower you rather than the other stuff we tend to focus on (by unconsiously evaluating stuff using negative questions). And it will help put you in a better state to deal with your day and tasks. The questions about love, gratefulness etc helps only because it is hard to be completely grateful and worried/sad/anxious at the same time. Weird, but true. First time, I heard it, i was like B.S! But then slowly realised how true it was.
So that's the logic behind it. It does help and gets easier more you do it. I am still learning how to work with it. One of the best questions i found for myself is: ok, what can I learn from this and how can i make it better? I find that really useful.
P.S. Sorry for the thesis-like reply! :p
THIS IS AWESOME
Wow, thesis - this is amazing. I love going through and reading your progress - and I haven't even gotten to the beginning yet! These "positive empowering questions" are lovely - the name I had come up with for my own are "Centering Questions", because that's their effect.
One question that I wrote for myself, that might help others:
"Are there maintenance activities I can do that (while they might seem mundane, insignificant and meaningless) can accumulate to create a a better quality of life?"
This one is important for me, because I have a tendancy to wait until it's a crisis situation before taking action. Among many reasons for procrastination, I think I'm addicted/used to urgency.
Thank you for your inspirational work. I'll be thinking of you often.
"Do I prefer to grow up and relate to life directly, or do I choose to live and die in fear?" -- Pema Chodron, Comfortable with Uncertainty
Thanks for that Thesis
Very interesting Thesis.I was trying it out today and found it quite a good method to get the focus back on the task in hand. It sounds in some ways so simple yet these are powerful questions.
I liked your comment that the first time you heard about it you thought it was BS. As I get older I realise more and more that many things I had dismissed as BS are actually quite useful!
v Best,
Hooch
wow many thanks, thesis!
I'm struggling to get started today, so coming across the concept of positive empowering questions is great!
For me whilst working the 12-Steps I've also come across the concept "we believe that negative thinking is a large part of our disease, so we are learning, one day at a time, to abstain from negative thinking".
For today these positive empowering questions seem to be perfect antidote to my negative thinking!
25 November
24 November - 22 x10. Noticed that I was paying more attention to the time slot than actually making it as productive as possible.
25 November - I have to be in the present. My fears lies in the past and in the future. When I am fully present, in this moment, I am not my fear. I am not anyone in fact, I am just pure awareness. Being in that state of awareness, helped me focus intently today for 7x10 without thoughts of interruption.
I notice that whenever I take a break and come back after a smoke, my mind immediately wanders and feel a lot of temptation to do something else. This is where i tend to drop off and find it hard to get back. Not sure why this should be the case, because usually when i get into the office the first time, it is not hard to start. I need to put myself in the same frame of mind as if i am starting afresh, when i come back after a break. It seems to be a pattern/ritual that i am repeating with myself, that is causing the problem. Partly to do with my belief as well , that this will happen. Need to work on this. Quitting smoking will help, then i wont have to go down at all. Ok now back to work.
Best of luck today thesis
Hi thesis- you are doing great. i relate very much to struggling with staying in the now.. The past is done and we only have right now to take action- and for me doing something is often all I can do and take it a minute at a time. You have been really working hard and I get inspired every day reading how you are progressing. I amsending you all the best of wishes for a good day of writing today and am cheering oyu on from afar. Well done agai nfor all you are doing and I Know it will be so worth it when you have finished. Keep up the great work.