Procrastinating- Good or Bad?

Nope I can do it tomorrow!!!

Nah not, now later!!!

Please why now, I have time!!!

These are phrases that we use to delay and stall our progress and with one word, these can be described as Procrastinating.  Over the past week, I did a mini survey with some close friends to find out why they thought people procrastinated.  These are a few of the responses:

• Inability to self-motivate -  most times people find it hard to motivate themselves to get up and start, especially when they feel like the task is unpleasant or boring. 
• Doubt - the "I won't success any way" syndrome and the saying "I don't try I would not have failed".
• Low self-esteem -  lack the confidence to try, insecurities, not able to fulfil others expectations and standard.
• Being anal - trying perfect every aspect of the  task can become stressful and cause persons to pause  which will also make them become stressed.
• Inability to recognize incremental achievements - not being able to see the small things and how they add up.
• Not wanting to - rebelling about doing what needs to be done.

The feeling to procrastinate is something that we all face at different points in our lives. No one is immune from it. 

How many times have you used the phrase “I work better under pressure” or "I promise myself that I will finish a task" when I am in the mood?” 

Depending on the situation, depending on the circumstance, our mood or the reason for not doing;  we must admit we go through procrastination. The outcome however is never worth the "procrastinating"!. Note that even after procrastinating the task is still not done and the outcome is sometimes catastrophic and can even affect others.

During the mini survey one of the respondent said that "shrugging it off, is fakes the mood, for a moment" and that makes you feel good as you do not have to face what is to come.  "The fear of the unknown is worst than actually doing". 

But the truth is, the only thing that procrastinating does; is rob us of the most precious thing "TIME". It also prevents us from truly being able to accomplish and reach our full potential. 

One why to beat the 'procrastination disease', yes I said it disease, is to create a 'things to do list'. The list should be dated and updated each day.  At the end of the week it should be compared to the list that you had started with. So that you can measure how much you actually  got done.  Remember when doing your 'things to do' be realistic, note that not all the tasks will be completed "AT ONCE".  

The second is to always looking at the bigger picture. Doing things a little at a time means that you are making strides towards something bigger. Always remember the why! Start by saying I will because......

And finally recognize that you may need help to move, so reward yourself. For every-time you complete a task, do something big!!!!

Walking with my Baggage

Have you every felt like you can't go on.... Like the world is on your shoulders and the storm will never stop...

Life sometimes can be cruel, plaguing us with so much uncertainities; and as we struggle with our past and our inhibitions we seem to be unable to move forward. The baggage that we carry, often makes us question our strength. 

I met a young lady, who in tears said that she was not strong. And, as she spoke she said "you don't know what I am going through, I am weak". I looked at her and said, "no, you are not weak it is the baggage that you carry that is preventing you from moving forward". She smiled as her eyes filled with water.

As we conversed, and she shared her story; it dawned on me that even with incremental progress, even with incremental success she still could not embrace the new opportunities that life presented. 

The reality is that when we go through hurt, disappointments and deceptions; if we have not dealt with it and accepted what has happened it will be difficult for us to continue with our lives. We, must also understand that our strength sometimes will come from support and not many of us can overcome by ourselves.  

In our conversations, she also shared that she did not want "hand-outs", "she wanted to make it without seeking help from anyone". And, while I understand  not wanting to let someone into your space because of fear of being disappointed. We need to realize that in this journey of life; that we all need support and that we all need someone. 

Further, we must understand,  that though the journey is ours, we can't always walk the journey alone without a helping hand.  I expressed this to her, and noted that just talking with me is proof that she needed support.

We ended the conversation where she acknowledged that she needs help to release the baggage so that she can face the future and what it had to offer.

The lesson to learn here, is that while we can never erase our past. We must never let our past hinder our future.  Instead, it must be used as our example for moving forward. In addition, we must understand that we all need a hand sometimes, a voice of reason and that individual that we can lean on to help us ride the storm.