Fly Attack

I was attacked by a fly this week.

That sounds a bit dramatic. I’ll try to be more factual.

A Texas-sized fly flew around my head, darting in and out of my ears, sometimes hitting my face, and other times biting my back for 20 minutes while I walked. It was crazy.

First of all, Texas has big bugs. Let’s get that on the table. Every insect is just a little bigger out here. The attacking fly in my story was no exception. It is also HOT…especially in the summer. I walk every day, and in the summer that means early morning hoofing. Early mornings usually bring active insects and intricate spiderwebs strewn across the sidewalks and paths. It can be annoying—but I am used to annoying walks. I am used to flying insects and walking through spiderwebs. I am accustomed to waving those bugs away and moving on.

This particular morning's walk was anything but typical.

The fly started buzzing around my head about five minutes after I left home. I swatted at it, like normal. The fly returned. I waved my arms more aggressively. The fly circled my head, daring me to swat again. He landed on my arms, my head, my face, my back, and behind my shoulders. I kept swatting the air, even making contact with the fly occasionally. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t leave. This went on for several minutes. Nothing I tried worked. And then that stupid fly bit me! I was done. I started running—sprinting, really. But as you can imagine, flying always trumps running. I could NOT get away from this thing.

My sprint was short, and I hoped the fly would tire and move on to another target. He did not. I tried running again, this time flailing my arms in every direction. I know I looked ridiculous. Maybe insane. I made contact with the thing twice, but nothing stopped his relentless darting toward my face and ears. Unfortunately, I am not a runner, so I tired quickly and went back to walking. The fly slowed down. UGH!!!

At this point, I was breathless, sweaty, and flustered. I had been hoping for a pleasant 30 minutes alone where I could read my book and just think. Instead, I was compelled to fight with a fly. I’ve never felt so annoyed. What happened next can only be described as a total loss of sanity.

I stopped walking and turned to face (as much as anyone can face) the fly. Although not in the traditional sense, he and I battled it out. The song Kung Fu Fighting played on repeat in my head. I chopped and kicked while the fly did his best darting and buzzing routine. We made contact only once with the back of my hand. It was the most ridiculous 30 seconds of my life. But when it was over, the fly left.

The remainder of my walk was done solo.

Now what does this have to do with anything?

Coming from a person who has, at times, reached an expert level at procrastinating—my walk and the attacking fly are a perfect representation of procrastination. My intention that morning was to read my book as I walked. That’s what I planned to do. I opened the Kindle app and started reading. And then the fly arrived. My focus changed, unwillingly. I kept directing my eyes to my Kindle, reading the same paragraph over and over again. Nothing made sense. My thoughts were on the fly. He never left me alone, not even for a second. The entire ordeal lasted 20 minutes, and I never moved off the same page in the book. I never even moved on to the next paragraph. It wasn’t until I faced the fly and fought him head-on that things changed.

And this is precisely how procrastination works. You try to focus on other things, but that nagging in your head is like the fly buzzing from ear to ear. It doesn’t stop. Your focus is scattered. Despite your best intentions, despite pretending that you are accomplishing another task—your attention is divided. You are not doing your best work.

That fly was a nuisance. It was irritating and sometimes painful. In order for me to walk and read the way I planned, I had to address the fly problem. In this case, it was a little Kung Fu. 😜 But it may show up very differently in your own life.

I am not perfect, and I procrastinate things every once in a while. However, I am much better than I used to be. Whatever you are procrastinating, just get it done. Stop avoiding it and do it, no matter what. Knowing what needs to be done and never doing it creates so much mental anguish.

Kung Fu the fly.

Today.

P.S. if you want to go deeper with any of this, reach out. Let’s talk.