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How to Handle Stress-Related Procrastination 79

table 4.1 (continued)
Cluster Evaluation Conceptual Direction
Dimension
Fear of disapproval. If you 1. The ability to get along with others is a
believe that your worth de- traditional social standard for success.
pends on the approval of However, you can’t win them all. No
others, you may undertake a reasonable person would expect that
quixotic mission to be a uni- of you.
versal people pleaser. You 2. In keeping with the cluster evaluation
may emphasize what others theme, think about the concept of oblig-
want of you and fall behind atory perfectionism. Here you obligate
on your own personal re- yourself to please and to not disappoint
sponsibilities, or you may others. Obligatory perfectionism can
avoid purposeful and pro- lead to procrastination when you bite
ductive actions for fear that off more than you can chew, or when
you’ll step on someone’s you resent the obligation.
toes and get judged. Evalua-
tion comes into play when 3. The pluralistic view comes into play in
you worry too much about yet another corrective way. Since both
what other people think, you and others are likely to have varied
and especially when you interests, desires, values, and tastes,
think that others think that what productive directions are available
you’ve fallen short. through taking a pluralistic view?
Fear of failure. Like other 1. If you fear failure, what is the failure that
parts of the cluster, this fear you fear? How do you define it? What
involves evaluation: how are the examples? Who gives out the
you evaluate yourself, and report card?
beliefs about other’s evalua- 2. Most problems that you’ll face are like
tions and what they say experiments in living. Some responses
about you and your value. are likely to be more productive than
Fear of success is often the others, and some may be different, but
second side of the coin. If still useful.
you succeed, perhaps you
will later fail; people may 3. The option of evaluating what you do in
expect more from you, and a pluralistic, changing world is reason-
you won’t be able to deliver. able, but globally evaluating yourself in
any permanent way based upon how
well you do in any one situation is not
realistic.
4. As for fear of success, you first have to
succeed to see if there is anything to
fear later. In a fixed and predictable
world, there is no guarantee that you’ll
fail after succeeding, or that more
than you can handle will be expected
from you.