Death can always be relied upon as a darn good wake-up call.
I recently watched The Waitress, a highly recommended film about a woman’s journey to escape an abusive relationship and create a more fulfilling life for herself. It was with shock that I discovered that Adrienne Shelly, the writer, director and a cast member of the film, was murdered before the film was released; she did not see her project premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007, nor see it go on to win its many awards.
Her husband set up the Adrienne Shelly Foundation in her memory, providing grants to help young women pursue their film-making dreams. One of those grant recipients, Cynthia Wade, won an Academy Award for her documentary film, Freeheld. I feel raw to my emotional core as I watch the trailer of this film, which I urge you to do here.
The knock-on effect of Adrienne’s work is a reminder to us that our actions never exist in a vacuum. When we tell ourselves that we can wait until ‘one day’, when we fritter our time away and procrastinate, we are depriving others as well as ourselves. If Adrienne had waited even another year to move her project from idea to reality, the film and its legacy would not be with us.
We all, like Adrienne and Cynthia, have stories to tell, messages to convey, gifts to share. Our uniqueness is such that when we hold back, our piece of the collective jigsaw is simply missing. Life is too short to procrastinate. Life is also too long to procrastinate. There are hopefully too many years ahead of us to spend with shelved dreams and regrets.
The World Needs Your Passion, So…
1) How would you define procrastination?
2) Investigate your own procrastination strategies. Do you play “What celebrity are you most like?” on Facebook or colour-code your nail varnish? Do you take up an honourable new hobby? Or spend hours on ‘very important’ internet research work? Keep an honest list this week of activities you engage in which don’t move you forward in the direction you truly want to go.
3) Inquiry: What is underneath my procrastination? This is a BIG question so just note your instincts as they come up. Do you detect fear of failure, fear of success, lack of organisational skills, fear of the unknown, fear of change, lack of support, fear of visibility, lack of self-confidence…?
4) Leave a comment below and watch as others join in, creating between us a supportive online community.
© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2009
** Do You Dream Of Creating A Film Which Matters? **
Or an event… pieces of art… workshops… a retreat… an album… a healing centre…. ?
Then join us in Cambridge on Sat 24th April 2010 for Kickstart Your Venture, a community workshop. Click here for more details.
Also see Recommended Resources on my website for films, books, people and resources to inspire.
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Thanks Corrina.
I will watch The Waitress as my next rental!
Procrastination is definitely something to be addressed and parted from. I definitely want to part myself away from it and make the most of valuable time! Time is so precious and I want to stay more focused on my immediate moments and use my skills wisely.
Thanks for the nudge!
Xxx
When I don’t procrastinate over little things like washing up, I have less ‘brain noise’ and added momentum to tackle the bigger things – ‘incompletions drain energy from the psyche’ – Topher Morrison.
The world needs your passion and I’ve found HUB to be a fantastic way to help you fulfil your personal dream and your dream for the world. I highly recommend you take a look and call me to find out more – 07971 627 602
Remember, if not now, when? If not you, who?
“Our uniqueness is such that when we hold back, our piece of the collective jigsaw is simply missing.
I love what you’re saying here Corrina. Everybody matters for the world to be whole.
Great post. xxx
I find just about everything you write challenging in one form or another, and some of your observations are inspiring too. The only time I would find anything you wrote irritating is when I am putting off shifting the ‘status quo’ and your thoughts make me get off my bum and act! (And that is my fault, not yours after all!)
I like the way you write and then follow with questions for the considering of…lousy english, I know…It takes me ages to mull my way through your questions and figure out where I’m at, and also I have found that knowing myself better I am more able to be useful to others when I’m needed. I haven’t answered any of your posts before now as I don’t know what to say, but I want you to know that there is a person out in cyberspace who is reading, marking and inwardly digesting your offerings!
I love the calling forth tone of this post, slightly less gentle than usual… like this really matters! Which it does of course…
Mark silver has written something great on this too, about asking what our hearts say. I have it next to me on my office wall.
http://www.heartofbusiness.com/help-im-lazy/
Rosalyn
I liked this one especially, cos the real-world links were interesting – I think I don’t like positivity if it’s in a vacuum
x
Corrina,
You have already been an inspiration to me to do the things i want to do now rather than waiting and this ezine is excellent! Thank you so much! I hope you have a wonderful holiday when you go!! xx
@Rosanna – Interesting how you say ‘parted from’- that real sense of choice between different paths. And yes by focusing on our immediate moments, we’re more in the present and therefore ‘One Day’ doesn’t quite feel so acceptable.
@Richard – I like your phrase ‘brain noise’, I bet lots of us can relate to that. That slogan “If not now, when?” is graffitied here in Cambridge; I always smile when I pass it – SUCH a wake-up.
@Janice – Yes, everyone matters. I’m getting less and less tolerant of this societal acceptance of ourselves as cogs in some kind of wheel. Spoke with a woman earlier this week who has so many passions but has become despondent because she really believes she can’t effect change. She could hardly believe that she is absolutely significant.
@Heather – Well thank you SOO much for posting here. I really urge people to get over that idea that they don’t have anything interesting to say in a comment. I LOVE getting comments because it’s really wonderful to hear when approaches or messages are resonating – and challenging. Your comments are significant! This blog needs your comments!
@Rosalyn – Ooh I’ll go and read Mark’s post. I think you MAY have spotted that I’m somewhat of a fan of his
And yes, the first couple of drafts of this post were quite ‘flat’ until I watched the Freeheld trailer and then that got the fire in my belly a-burning. Thanks for spotting.
@Joe – People often mistake coaching as some kind of cheerleading or ego-polishing. The ‘positivity’ of my approach is BECAUSE it’s based in reality, from having case study after case study of what works and what doesn’t. Definitely no vacuum. Thanks for the comment.
@Laura – YAY! I am sitting with a very big smile and picturing you truly on the path now of following your passion. There are many of us who will be very grateful as your warm, enthusiastic energy is so needed.
When we watched The Waitress some time ago, I loved it. And then both my wife and I were shocked, really grieving, when we heard that she had been murdered. It affected me pretty deeply because of how much I had entered into the film.
Procrastination is, I believe, one of two things: the judgment we put on the natural spaciousness that we need in our lives, or the judgment we put on ourselves when we are having trouble correctly identifying the next step. I find I often misidentify the next step, and so hesitate to take what I *think* is the next step.
And the Divine won’t let me proceed until I get the Jewel right where I’m standing.
Corrina, you have really identified a button pushing point here for so many of us…thank you. Thank you for unapologetically calling our attention to what is happening in the lives of others, for holding up mirrors to our own lives and daring us to live our best life possible, and to support others to the same end. Your words always ring of truth and home…keep pushing those buttons!
@Mark – And what did you think of Freeheld, if you got to watch the trailer? I’d never heard of it before, funny how these legacies continue. Yes, nice point about natural spaciousness; I’ve often had clients who beat themselves up for ‘procrastinating’ when actually what their psyche is doing is sneaking in down-time because they’re not consciously scheduling/allowing it. And also definitely about not knowing the next step: the number of times I’ve ‘procrastinated’ because there was a genuine gap in my knowledge that I wasn’t acknowledging. Thanks for showing up on this blog post, by the way
@Samantha – Yeah, no apologies. I love the word ‘daring’; one of my favourite questions to ask is: What do you wish I’d dare you to do? So… Sam… What do you wish I’d dare you to do? (Bet you wish you hadn’t posted now, huh?)
Corrina´s last blog ..Life Is Too Short To Procrastinate
I’m on the case Corrina! – I had an idea this afternoon about how cool it would be to have a yoga buddy, to be able to meet up with someone in your own town/city or in visiting one and try a yoga class with this new buddy!
So excited by my idea and inspired by your article I knew I couldn’t put this one on the back burner! I just had to take action straight away!
I have just created the facebook group Yoga Buddies UK: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106994732499 and have great plans for the adjoining website to come….
THANK YOU Corrina for being my inspirer, support and energy.
Rosanna x
Rosanna Gordon´s last blog ..Come Rain or Shine!
Freeheld? I don’t remember- I don’t think I saw the trailer, or if I did, I don’t remember it. It seems like ages since I saw the film…
@Rosanna – You’re amazing! It’s been such a breath of fresh air to watch your Yoga Buddies United group suddenly appear and then take off as it has. Check it out, people, a really wonderful example of how an idea can turn into action and then gain momentum very naturally and organically – and fast!
@Mark -you can check out the trailer here – http://www.freeheld.com/ – even just watching these few minutes is very powerful.
Corrina´s last blog ..Life Is Too Short To Procrastinate
Hello all, Thanks so much for your comments, I found each one liberating and they definitely resonated! Corrina, I discovered your “the world needs your passion” story last week via a friend’s recommendation. It is brilliant. Assertive and courageous yet gentle. I find procrastination happens when my thinking overrides my need to contribute my truth (my part of the puzzle). My mind will always find some reason not to make myself visible. So now i give my mind full reign and welcome it in ( laughing at myself works wonders ). ALso being gentle with myself when i don’t meet those needs to act, when i do procrastinate and my mind wins (which happens a lot!). In fact i often learn more when i accept that in the early stages of developing my non-procrastination muscles i’m gonna procrastinate more than act. This gives me more energy bit by bit. ANyway, enough of my rambling, i loved the post saying not procrastinating on things like washing up energises the psyche, its so true, those little things eventually really make a big difference! Thankyou! India
@India – I’m so happy you found us here. I bet lots of people are nodding their heads at your comment, “My mind will always find some reason not to make myself visible” – although we might replace ‘visible’ with ‘successful’ or ‘different from my peers’ etc. It sounds like lots of energy gets freed up for you when you accept and welcome what’s happening, rather than making it the enemy. You might like the latest post: Feel The Fear, where we’ve been discussing befriending fear and riding life like it’s a tiger. All juicy stuff. Thanks so much for your feedback on The World Needs Your Passion – there’s actually a book version in the pipeline so watch this space…
Corrina´s last blog ..Feel The Fear