Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Just ignore it, right?


Today was paperwork day in my office of one. Specifically, I was getting caught up on insurance billing. This would seem to be a no-brainer. I've already done the work, it's just a matter of getting the papers in order so that I can actually get paid. Yet, for years, it is a task that I drag my feet over, create other projects to consume that time, ignore that it needs to get done, and otherwise just turn the whole thing into a MAJOR UNDERTAKING.


The thing is, once I actually buckle down and focus on taking care of business, it seldom takes anywhere near as long to get it done as the time I've wasted trying to avoid doing it in the first place. The same has often been proven true within relationships as well. There's the elephant in the living room that is ignored, because no one wants to deal with it. Who knows? It could be something that takes some effort to resolve. It could be something that has no simple solution, or might take more than one conversation to find agreement on.


It can feel much easier to just set it to the side, particularly with something that isn't terribly intrusive on a daily basis. Let's consider the possibility, however, that the issue you've been trying to ignore may be connected to a big fat paycheck, that the effort you'll need to put into resolving the concern may be MUCH less than what the story in your head would suggest. If you just dig in and get to it, it could be cleared off faster than you ever thought possible, freeing up energy that you can put towards something constructive.


So what are you trying to avoid dealing with? Most of us have something rolling around in the back of our subconscious, sucking little bits of energy away from what we may be able to accomplish within our relationships. Ignorance, hoping something will magically self-resolve or just go away, isn't bliss. It's head-in-the-sand, lalalalalala, wishful thinking that accomplishes nothing. Bite the bullet and get it done!

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