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78 End Procrastination Now!
table 4.1
Evaluation Procrastination Cluster

Cluster Evaluation Conceptual Direction
Dimension
Self-doubt. Practically every- 1. If you fall into the self-doubt trap, con-
one has periods of insecu- sider taking a pluralistic view of yourself.
rity. Self-doubt patterns are This pluralistic view balances the tunnel
different. You view yourself vision signature of self-doubts. You have
as lacking adequate re- hundreds of traits, qualities, and emo-
sources and abilities and tions and the potential to do well in
needing certainty. Thus, you multiple ways. It’s important that you
are likely to second-guess take stock of a pluralistic you and what
yourself, hesitate, doubt you are truly able to do.
yourself, and procrastinate 2. Doubts grow from uncertainties. Uncer-
in areas where you are not tainties are part of life. Without them,
sure that you’ll perform ad- human growth and development would
equately. Facing areas of be limited. I don’t know how anyone
uncertainty is likely to evoke can avoid uncertainty.
anxiety and create more
hesitations and doubts. You 3. Hesitations and self-downing suggest
evaluate yourself as lacking that you can benefit from peeling off a
resources and unable to layer of the onion and looking to see
perform well enough. whether your self-evaluations have any-
thing to do with a perfectionist view.
Perfectionism. You may think 1. If you fall into the Type A perfectionist trap,
of a perfectionist as an inse- take a second look. With your focus on
cure, hostile, achievement- activity, what are the critical areas in your
driven, time-urgent, Type A life that repeatedly get put on the back
personality. That description burner? How do you judge or evaluate
appears overly general. If you your ability to participate in those areas?
set impossibly high stan- 2. If you fall into a challenge avoidance
dards, think in terms of polar perfectionist trap because you expect
opposites (winner-loser), more from yourself than you can deliver,
assert entitlement, and make you are running against the grain of re-
your worth contingent on ality. Life is as it is. It is not globally as
meeting lofty standards, you you think it should be.
may drive yourself to avoid
failure or engage in self- 3. Entitlement claims exist in the mind.
handicapping to justify pro- Judging reality against these expecta-
crastination. You can be tions leads to a false evaluation of what
paralyzed by worrying about you and others should do. Instead of
imperfections and expend prejudging, work to suspend perfection-
energy detecting defects. If ist judgment. Take a pluralistic perspec-
you believe that you can’t be tive where “gray” is the norm. Test what
what you should be, you’ve you can do, rather than stretching for
fallen into an evaluation trap. something that you cannot reach.