The verdict was in. My fate had been decided. Yet as I rose to my feet, I noticed that I was not alone, for the world had risen with me. It was official, judgement had been passed, and we had all been found guilty.
The judge’s words rang in my ears as slowly but surely, the ramification of the verdict sunk in. I looked around at the rows of blank looking faces as disbelief gave way to horror, for we were all guilty of a most dreadful crime. A crime that in reality, none of us were even aware of, a crime so heinous that hardly any of us could spell it, let alone describe what in actual fact it was or how it had even started…
The verdict had been unanimous procrastination, was, they had declared, a crime so widespread that they had ruled that for all intensive purposes, it was the greatest blight on modern day society. But how could this be?
I was, or so I thought, productive. My life, for all intensive purposes, was full, my days long and I had thought fruitful, yet as my mind was allowed the freedom that it craved I began to see that the art of putting off was in actual fact at the very forefront of my somewhat chaotic life.
Let’s face it, procrastination effects every facet of our lives; Our ‘in a minute’ ‘maybe tomorrow’ ‘later’ ‘I can’t’ ”not now’ ‘what will people think’ ‘I’ll do it in the morning’ responses are all terms that each and every one of us have used if not once, then at least a million times.
In reality the putting off, the fear of failure and the self-doubt that our subconscious minds delight in, only serve to rob us of our ‘freedom’. We have all, somehow become prisoners, so intent on the ‘here and now’ that we barely notice that we have all become adept at the art of putting things off, delaying either the inevitable or delaying what could be a new dawn, a new beginning where we seize the day and live more fulfilling lives.
So how is it that procrastination has managed to not only creep into our daily routines, but leave us all paralysed, unable to see, let alone acknowledge that we are all guilty of this all too destructive force.
The lame and the negative have somehow risen to the surface and have become so entrenched in our everyday psyche that we don’t even see it.
Time seemed to stand still, as my mind began to ponder about the future and I found myself wondering just what exactly would become of us all, if we were to continue on our current path?
Yet the clock ticked constantly, reminding me that we are all only visitors here, and life was for living, yet as the masses began to murmur, I knew that in order to stop procrastination destroying each and every one of us, we would need to throw open the doors of our minds and begin the task of embracing the positive, for we had been warned and now it was time for change.
And yet, in order to secure change, we would not just need to acknowledge that the problem existed, but that it actually worked against us and then, as with any problem, we could begin to deal with it.
Slowly I began to realise that the answer was not beyond my capabilities, it simply demanded that I replaced the, ‘not now’ with ‘why not’, the ‘in a minute’ with ‘let’s go’, and by accepting the positive, that I could rid myself of this terrible disease.
The debilitating fear of failure that lay behind my own procrastination could, I decided be defeated and as I looked around at the world that stood alongside me, I knew that one-by-one we could overcome ‘procrastination’ and free ourselves of the judgement that had been passed upon us all.
So what will you do today to free yourself of the dreaded procrastination.
Drop me a comment and let me know x
You raise some interesting points - and we're all guilty of procrastinating, even if only subconsciously. It can take a lot of courage to tackle something head on that perhaps we might put off if given the chance. I like to take a step back from the situation, and try to think through the pros and cons logically before making any decisions as to what is the best course of action. It can be easier said than done though!