Procrastination has Consequences
Procrastination has Consequences
There is no act, however trivial, but has its train of consequences.
Samuel Smiles
Procrastination always has consequences. This is just the way the Universe works. You are only allotted a finite amount of time to live your life and you shouldn’t waste it. Your days will go by much faster than you can imagine. Before you know it, you will be looking back at your life and saying that it seems like only yesterday when you did this or that, when it was actually 20 or 30 years ago. Procrastinating is simply wasting your time, especially when you are procrastinating concerning important things.
Procrastination not only waste your time, but it can cost you important opportunities. There are many times when you have to act, and act quickly, in order to seize the opportunity that the Universe has brought to you. If you procrastinate, as far a taking advantage of that opportunity, that small window of opportunity may well disappear. You have to be prepared to act, and then take action. In many cases, tomorrow is too late.
For opportunity knocks at your door just once, and in many cases you have to decide and to act quickly.
Francesco Guicciardini
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that you should act without first reflecting on everything and looking at all the angles. That would basically be gambling. You should always think about the situation and examine all the possible outcomes. But after you have done your homework, you have to be decisive – one way or another. Not making a decision is simply procrastinating where the decision process is concerned, and this can cause you to lose many good opportunities.
You should examine all the information, do your homework, discuss the situation with those who have the knowledge that you need to make a wise decision, and then make your mind up, one way or the other. So many times people are too afraid of making the wrong decision, so they simply procrastinate when it comes to the decision making process. The fear of making the wrong decision paralyzes them, thus causing them to lose by default. Not taking action due to the fear of making a wrong decision, is in fact, an action in and of itself; and allowing fear to guide your actions is unwise.
The success of very important matters often depends on doing or not doing something that seems trivial. Even in little things, therefore, you must be cautious and thoughtful.
Francesco Guicciardini
Instead of making decisions based on fear, you should make your decisions based on your rational thought process. Look at all the information and make an informed decision. Then stick by your decision, no matter what happens. If you have done your homework, meditated on the situation at hand, and made a rational decision, don’t second guess yourself. You have done the best that you could do. At this point, feel good that you had the courage to step up and believe in yourself, whether the final outcome ends up being positive or negative.
Another important thing to remember is that procrastinating is not the same thing as deciding to be patient and not take any action at this moment. There is a big difference between procrastinating and making a conscience decision to wait. Deciding to wait patiently until a better time, or until you have more information, is making a firm decision to take action. While the action is that of waiting, it is not the same thing as procrastinating. Procrastinating is a form of laziness or an unwillingness to deal with something at this time. Patiently waiting is a strategic action. There is a huge difference in these two actions.
Every action we take, everything we do, is either a victory or defeat in the struggle to become what we want to be.
Anne Byrhhe
Even if you lose out on the great deal because of your decision to patiently wait for more information or strategically wait for a more opportune time to act, you can still feel good about the fact that you made a decision and are willing to stand by it and deal with the consequences. While procrastinating may have had the same outcome in the end, you will not feel good about losing an opportunity because of your unwillingness to address the situation. Do you see the difference? One is a strategic decision and the other is no decision at all.
When you have something that needs to be handled, take care of it. Don’t put it off because you aren’t in the mood to deal with it. Nobody else is going to take care of your business for you; it is completely in your hands. If you wait too long, the consequences of your procrastination could very well be irreversible. It is acceptable to lose because of making a wrong decision when you have done your best; it is not acceptable to lose because of your laziness or lack of self-discipline. Don’t procrastinate. Take care of your business and keep your affairs in order.
Carpe diem!
