
Hillary Rettig is both an activist and a productivity expert, two vocations that don't seem to have much in common at first glance. But as soon as I started reading two of her books, The Lifelong Activist and The 7 Secrets of the Prolific, I got the connection.
Unproductive would-be activists are disempowered activists.
And in a world that systematically tries to disempower those who challenge its structures of power and privilege, the last thing we need is to get in our own way when we stand up to injustice.
My big takeaway from the conversation was a self-diagnosis of perfectionism. I thought that while I deal with lots of unhelpful traits in myself, being a perfectionist wasn't one of my issues. But I saw myself in her description of the self-punishing procrastinator whose violent self-talk actually fuels further procrastination.
We talked about what Rettig calls the “Disempowerment Cascade,” which would make a terrible 6 Flag ride, and how to short-circuit it.
We talked about practical tactics for moving forward in the face of negative self-talk and paralysis, including kitchen times and unplugging from the internet.
I have a feeling this episode will go down as one of the most universally useful conversations I've ever shared.
Because I'm no longer a perfectionist, I'll share Rettig's background by borrowing directly from her website:
“My articles have appeared in Psychology Today, Huffington Post, Future Buzz, Time Management Ninja, Tomorrow’s Professor, Authors Helping Authors, and numerous other publications; and I’ve been interviewed in Entrepreneur.com and elsewhere. Please visit my website (http://www.hillaryrettig.com) to see how I can help you or your team get more productive, and to email me with any questions or to book a session.
“On a personal note, I’m a vegan, free software advocate, and lover of life and dogs. I’m also a former foster mom of four teenage Sudanese refugees (a.k.a., “Lost Boys”), now all adult and living independently. And I’m a living kidney donor. I also have an abiding interest in social justice–my first book, The Lifelong Activist, is a self-help guide for progressive and radical activists–and it was from my activism that I gained insights on personal power that inform my current work.”
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Links
The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way
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