The Reaction to Procrastinate

Recently I've become more aware of just how much I procrastinate. This trend has prevented me from doing not only things that need to be done, but also things I want to do - such as start this blog. I've put this blog off for well over a year! So assuming this blog continues to be updated it shall stand as a testament of my conquering the reaction to procrastinate.

I began to realize just how bad my procrastination had become when I was told I have an excuse for everything. This got me wondering "do I?" Sure enough I caught myself making excuses for some really simple tasks. Often times the excuse was "I'll do it later," even though there was no reason to not do it immediately. A lot of the time I would in fact do it later, but sometimes the task would be done by someone else before I "got to it." In the cases where the task was done for me I think the true secret desire of procrastination shows through, and that is the desire to not do the task at all. This is sloth, one of the deadly sins. What makes a "sin" a deadly one? I believe the label of "deadly" is a warning of addictive potential. When you're lazy you begin to feel lazy, and that feeling of laziness makes it easier to continue to be lazy. This cycle can go on until it completely destroys you. Breaking any habit that has become your basic reaction is no easy task, especially if one hasn't discovered the power of their will.

Will power is like a muscle in the sense that in order to perform it must be exercised. I've began with simple things such as doing stretches that I would normally put off until a "later" that would never come. Doing things that normally got put off feels great. Now, when an excuse come to mind I can remind myself of that feeling of accomplishment. Of course, sometimes the old reaction gets acted upon and I feel defeat. Defeat is the enemy of progress. It knocks one down and holds them there. When one feels defeat further defeats seem to matter less and less - until defeat, defeats you. The key to winning the battle against defeat is realizing why you wanted to succeed coupled with the realization that only you can defeat defeat. Remember not to be bogged-down by negativity, everyone makes mistakes.

I believe I have a solid strategy to conquer procrastination. By starting small and exercising my will power over little things in life the strength of my will will increase and the big things, like this blog, will come to fruition.