Something strange just happened. I got up early, ignored my email and got right to work on my very full to-do list. I had a good idea of which tasks I could accomplish before my 9am appointment. After an hour or so, I was well on my way to completing my whole list before the nice o’clock deadline. Then I glanced at my schedule and realized that my first appointment was at 10am, not 9am! I found an unexpected HOUR in my day – how often does that happen? But here’s where it gets weird.
I started to slow down. Understand that I had been working at a steady pace, getting things done, not feeling panicky or anything. But once I saw that I basically gained an hour, instead of moving forward at the same pace, I started to dawdle, check my email and look at a few web sites.
And I realized, this isn’t just about how I’m treating this extra hour today, this is a pattern in my life. When I see that a goal is “in the bag”, so to speak, I throttle back, instead of continuing at a consistent pace. It is the equivalent of being 20 yards ahead of everyone in a 100-yard dash, then five feet from the finish line making the decision to walk.
There’s nothing terribly wrong with this, but there’s something not quite right about it either. Something about not wanting to get too far ahead of everyone else? Fear of success?
Can anyone relate? Have any insights? Please share!
I noted the same… I searched is h for an explanation for this and that is how I found your blog. It happen to me also in my personal life, not only to the job, when I feel that I managed to reach part of my target I slow down or I stop and in this way my entire previous effort is lost and I am loosing also the chance to fully reach my target.