In the last few months I’ve stumbled across the most counterintuitive cause of procrastination you can imagine. More than half my clients have this problem. It slows them down. It gets in the way of accomplishing their goals. And it has led them to think they’re stupid. Or lazy. Or both.
The cause? Growing up gifted.
Now I truly believe everyone on the planet has gifts to share with the world. I’m not talking about that here. I’m using “gifted” in the technical sense of being really bright or having a high IQ.
You would think that someone who is gifted in that way has it easy. They get a high-paying job that funds a lavish lifestyle without even trying. They just create a brilliant business that changes the world. They easily turn their dreams into reality.
You would be wrong. Those who study the gifted have found that an extremely common outcome for gifted children is that they become underachievers as adults.
If you’re curious about why that would happen watch the video to find out one reason, and what I’ve been doing with my clients to change that outcome.
And please, please, watch the video if:
• You were formally identified as gifted as a child.
• Someone like a teacher mentioned how smart you were in a subject (which may well mean you were gifted even if you weren’t great in other subjects).
• You have a parent or sibling who was very smart (which means you very likely were too, even if something else prevented you from being identified as gifted yourself).
• You have a child you know or suspect is really bright (yep, another indication that you are probably gifted, too).
The video also recommends two resources you can check out that can help you make sense of what you went through and what you can do to achieve more in your life: sengifted.org (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted—SENG) and nwgca.org (the Northwest Gifted Child Association).
The experiences of growing up gifted often lead to conscious or subconscious beliefs that cause someone to procrastinate as an adult. And no one has to keep those beliefs. They can be changed. Watch the video to find out more.
When you’re ready to stop procrastinating and create the life you are meant to live, email me. We’ll set up a call to talk about what’s going on with you and see if I can help.
