“Procrastination is the thief of time.” - Edward Young
“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.” - Ida Scott Taylor
“Procrastination is opportunity's natural assassin.” - Victor Kiam
“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” - Wayne Gretzky
Really – there is nothing bright, energizing, positive, or exciting about this word.
…PROCRASTINATION
Yet we allow it to hang around. Well, I do – maybe I shouldn’t include you, unless you are with me, are you?
As writers, this character trait becomes a stumbling block if we allow it to manifest itself. I came face to face with it while I was writing my book, Overcoming the Nevers. It was so glaring I needed to write about it in chapter seven, Transformation:
“One of my defects of character is procrastination. This is no secret; I’ve wrestled with it for a very long time. …I put things off. I find it ironic that “procrastinate” is a verb, which indicates it’s an action word, when the word itself means to defer action.
Unfortunately this trait can result in missed opportunities and emotional weariness. Williams James says, “Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” When we procrastinate, we are not taking the appropriate action that we know we need to take. We carry thoughts about what we should be doing in our minds. Our thoughts turn into lies and mis-beliefs, and we start to feel that we aren’t good enough, or that we have failed, which is self-sabotaging. We carry the stress of the unfinished business on our shoulders, which drains us and holds us back.
How do I know this? Because I’m experiencing the effects of procrastination through the writing of this book. …There have been many days I’ve wanted to stop and not move forward. I’ve pushed back deadlines, rationalized excuses and wasted many good writing days by allowing every distraction to creep into my life.
The tapes that continuously play in my mind are I am not a writer, I’m in over my head, this is too hard for me. What I would rather do are the things that I know how to do, like coach a client through a life obstacle. …I would rather do things that are sociable and fun, like visit with a friend over coffee or go to a movie. The last thing I want to be doing is something in which I don’t feel confident – something that is extremely hard work – something that is refining me to the core and forcing me to dig deep into the depths of my soul.
Fear is the root of my procrastination. Fear of failure. Fear of what others might think. Fear of judgment. Fear of success; what happens if this really takes off, what does that look like? In all the significant areas of my life where I’ve allowed procrastination to set in, I can see that the core of not taking action is fear.”
What is it for you? What allows procrastination to creep into your life?
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Teri is a writer, speaker, and sought-after personal growth expert. Her unique strategies have helped transform the lives of her clients, enlightening, guiding and motivating them to achieve even their most deeply desired goals.
She is the President and Founder of Keeping It Personal, a company that specializes in self-development training and discovering your life purpose. She facilitates her clients, who range from executives to hard working stay-at-home moms, through, “The Ultimate Journey”, a course focused on unpacking self deception, to freedom from old destructive behaviors, discover and develop their truth, goals, and most importantly, accomplish them. Through her mentoring and life coaching, Teri’s clients have found personal growth and joy allowing them to improve relationships, decrease stress and anxiety, and move forward in their business and personal life, and more.
Her book, Overcoming The Nevers, is now available! You can learn more about Teri and her book by visiting her personal website. Be inspired daily by signing up to receive The Daily KIP…a little nugget of truth she writes at Keeping it Personal.
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