I stall by becoming extremely thoughtful

Dear Delyara, This is one of the more respectable lies fear tells through me. It says I’m being thoughtful. Careful. Measured. Responsible. Not impulsive. Not naïve. Sometimes that is true. But other times I am simply stalling in a way that sounds intelligent enough to avoid being challenged. I’m protecting myself from the humiliation of visible trying by remaining “not yet” for too long. I think some of the biggest costs in my life have come not from obvious failure, but from overly dignified delay. That truth is hard to sit with.