“Procrastination is the thief of time and the grave of opportunity”
This is what my English teacher had posted above our black board when I was in grade six. It sounds a bit intense for twelve year olds but I have had it memorized ever since. My English teacher always believed that the only thing standing between us and our purpose in the world was procrastination.
Have you ever found yourself saying the following statement; “When [blank] happens, then I will finally [blank]”? You know…”when I lose weight then I will finally starting running” or “when I meet the right man then I will finally be happy” or “when I have enough money then I will finally start saving for that dream trip”… and the list goes on. Really, it’s basic math, right…X+Y=Z. Or is it? Instead, is it possible that it could be procrastination cleverly disguised as rational planning?
Personally, I’m not much of a procrastinator at all. I have a tendency to be addicted to lists. My brain LOVES lists and these lists keep me on a constant roll of checking one thing off after another. I have though, just recently found myself caught in the very trap that my English teacher warned us about so many years ago…
I am procrastinating the writing of my book!
There, I said it! It’s finally out there in the universe and there’s no taking it back now! I realized this just this morning as I was getting infuriated with myself about not having enough time to get all the writing done that I wanted to. Somehow, even when the smallest little window of opportunity presents itself, I manage to find something else that simply can’t wait. And so, the cycle continues. Oddly enough, the subject line to my daily devotional this morning was “what’s your excuse?” I had to laugh at God’s sense of humour!
So then, what is my excuse? Well, based on our very reliable formula for life, I would have to say “when everything else gets done, then I will finally throw myself into my book”. Ha…now there’s a joke if I ever did hear one! When exactly will the day come when EVERYTHING will get done?!?! The answer to that equation is easy enough! This very obvious flaw in my logic left me with no other choice but to confront the real reason why I seem to be putting it off…
Failure is scary…but success is even scarier.
This is what my English teacher had posted above our black board when I was in grade six. It sounds a bit intense for twelve year olds but I have had it memorized ever since. My English teacher always believed that the only thing standing between us and our purpose in the world was procrastination.
Have you ever found yourself saying the following statement; “When [blank] happens, then I will finally [blank]”? You know…”when I lose weight then I will finally starting running” or “when I meet the right man then I will finally be happy” or “when I have enough money then I will finally start saving for that dream trip”… and the list goes on. Really, it’s basic math, right…X+Y=Z. Or is it? Instead, is it possible that it could be procrastination cleverly disguised as rational planning?
Personally, I’m not much of a procrastinator at all. I have a tendency to be addicted to lists. My brain LOVES lists and these lists keep me on a constant roll of checking one thing off after another. I have though, just recently found myself caught in the very trap that my English teacher warned us about so many years ago…
I am procrastinating the writing of my book!
There, I said it! It’s finally out there in the universe and there’s no taking it back now! I realized this just this morning as I was getting infuriated with myself about not having enough time to get all the writing done that I wanted to. Somehow, even when the smallest little window of opportunity presents itself, I manage to find something else that simply can’t wait. And so, the cycle continues. Oddly enough, the subject line to my daily devotional this morning was “what’s your excuse?” I had to laugh at God’s sense of humour!
So then, what is my excuse? Well, based on our very reliable formula for life, I would have to say “when everything else gets done, then I will finally throw myself into my book”. Ha…now there’s a joke if I ever did hear one! When exactly will the day come when EVERYTHING will get done?!?! The answer to that equation is easy enough! This very obvious flaw in my logic left me with no other choice but to confront the real reason why I seem to be putting it off…
Failure is scary…but success is even scarier.
4 comments:
SOO true!! At times it is not the fear of failure, but the fear of succeeding that holds us back. Failure we seem to know what to do with, but success is a different story...
Ida Scott Taylor said:
"Procrastination usually results in sorrowful regret. Today's duties put off until tomorrow give us a double burden to bear; the best way is to do them in their proper time.”
You'll write your book in proper time and it willbe WONDERFUL.
KRISTY!
I was so happy to see your beautiful name appear on my screen! I was thinking about you lately and wondering how your wedding went (magically, I’m sure!)? I would love to see some pictures if you’re up for emailing them to me…
I’m at
genygirl(at)hotmail(dot)com
And thanks Melanie for coming by…you make my blog so much more interesting!
Gen....I just went back to catch up on your blog. I will send you a link to the pics on FB. Kristy
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