Do You Invent your Own Greek Chorus?

How to recognize when you're lying to yourself to fuel procrastination - and how to stop doing it.

You sit down to write your paper or your pitch for a small business. It just got assigned, but it's due in a week. You know you should probably get started on it. But, you tell yourself, everyone would agree it's unreasonable for me to get this done in a week! Telling yourself this little lie lessens the blow when your turn the assignment in two days late.

We tend to tell ourselves stories to rationalize our failure. We invent scenarios where everyone supports and agrees with us, so that when we eventually do not meet our goals, it is not such a bad thing. This kind of thinking even occurs in social situations - where we might tell ourselves that anyone would agree that someone a bad friend, even if that isn't necessarily true.

In ancient greek theater, the Greek Chorus played a similar role, commenting on the plot of the play as a collective voice emphasizing the intended moral lesson of the story. When we create a universal group that supports our every move, we create our own greek chorus. Though this is incredibly comforting, it can damage growth in the long run, especially when it comes to procrastination. Sometimes, our greek chorus prevents us from acknowledging our faults and putting in the work to deal with them. The chorus let us imagine ourselves as amongst a common crowd, rather than thinking of ourselves as individuals who must be held accountable. Becoming a more accountable person requires stepping out of the greek chorus you've invented and reckoning with your own actions.

The Dangers of the Greek Chorus in Procrastination

The trouble with telling yourself things like "10 pages is impossible!" or "No one would be able to get this done by the deadline!" is that you become extricated from your own accountability. You are no longer an individual with complete control of your actions and preparedness, but you are now exempt from all personal responsibility to reach your goal or deadline.

Let's say you have a research paper due in a week. The truth is, you're scared it won't turn out how you want, and you really want to get an A in the class. But, you tell yourself that no one would be able to get a paper this complicated done in a week, and you immediately feel a sense of relief.

The problem with the story you've invented is that it has shifted all of the responsibility for finishing the paper off of you - that's why you feel that intense relief following the voices of your greek chorus. Not only do you lose accountability to yourself, but you also fail to trust your own ability to complete this paper

Combatting the Chorus

So, the question becomes: How do we get out of the habit of creating our own greek chorus? How do we regain accountability for our own success - and succeed in reaching out goals? Well, it takes challenging your greek chorus, reestablishing accountability, and regaining trust in your capability.

Challenging the Greek Chorus

At first, it might not seem easy to curb the reassuring thoughts your Greek Chorus provides, but once you learn how to break that habit, you may find it's not as challenging as it seems. All it takes to challenge your Greek Chorus is to be able to recognize when you're having these thoughts. Do your thoughts about work or deadlines seem to always support your perspective? Do they shift accountability off of you?

Once you can identify what these thoughts look like, you can begin to notice when you have them, and you can begin to pick them apart. As soon as you notice yourself having one of these thoughts, identify what purpose it serves you - is it negating responsibility? Fueling procrastination? Though it may be hard, try to challenge these thoughts.

Establishing Accountability

Now that you're aware of your Greek Chorus and what it does to you, the next step is to build accountability into your working process. This directly addresses the lack of accountability you establish in stories you tell yourself about working.

There are many ways to keep yourself accountable. Writing in a planner or using an online organization tool can both aid you in making sure you make progress on your tasks regularly. You can even bring a third party in - have a friend who checks in with you every couple of hours on how the assignment going. This is sometimes referred to as the "buddy system" or "accountability buddies" in coaching spaces, and is a tried and true method for keeping someone, or both parties, accountable.

No matter what method works, the key is that you are made responsible for the task at hand, and are directly addressing it, rather than hiding behind the voices of your greek chorus.

Trusting Your Abilities

The last step to dispel your greek chorus is to build your trust in your own abilties. You can get this done in a week, no matter what the voice -- or voices -- inside of your head tell you. Take a minute to remind yourself of the challenges you've taken on before. Remember some of your greatest accomplishments and the hard work you put into them. Trust that you will be able to meet this deadline, to complete this task (after all, you've done it before!) -- you just need the organization and focus to make it happen.

Embracing Accountability

If your greek chorus is stopping you from challenge, productivity, or goals, it might be time to reevaluate the voices echoing inside your head. Only when you get the greek chorus off stage and start thinking as an individual can you become an accountable version of yourself.