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It’s Monday morning, and the forecast is of a severe To-Do List front coming in. For days now, you’ve been hunkered down, waiting out a Past Pull storm: anxiety gusts, self-doubt hail, and freezing fear downpours. The future is less bright. The horizon is disappearing into a thick, soupy fog, and you can no longer ignore your To-Do List.
Ask Procrastination to get out of the driver’s seat, clear up the past storm debris, and tackle the dang list. The first item is an easy one, and checking it off gives you a boost of accomplishment. Then, check off three more items and practically soar on a feel-good-about-yourself cloud. You’re not dumb, not a failure; you are intelligent and dedicated! Finally, even the fog eases up, and you catch glimpses of the not-so-distant horizon glowing with promise and hope of recognition, fame, and fortune.
You ban Past Pull. Never again, you vow. Never again will you allow self-doubt to creep in, will you be susceptible to reactive triggers. And, as you check off two more To-Do List items, you think you have finally made it. The heady rush of success and triumph, a potent drug, carries you forward.
Except Past Pull is not quickly banned. On the contrary, rushing ahead to get there faster, to leave the bad behind, only strengthens the force. Rush Ahead becomes part of a more significant binge pattern of waiting out the destructive storm, rushing ahead to get away and find better weather. Eventually, though, self-doubt creeps in, and the loop starts all over again.
What to do? Resist rushing ahead into a bright future, into being accomplished and on top of the game. Instead of weathering out the Past Pull storm, practice anchoring and allowing the force to move through you. It might not feel like you are accomplishing anything, but never second guess the power of release.
