Procrastination - The Thief of Success

Procrastination is one of the hardest bad habits to get out of. Putting off today what you can do tomorrow, indecision, wishing, not taking advantage of an opportunity, not acting on an idea, waiting for the perfect moment, thinking that you don't have the time, distracting yourself with busywork instead of doing what you know you need to do, considering a thing to be too risky and thinking that you need more education, training or experience are all thin disguises for procrastination.

Procrastination is one of the few bad habits that seems harmless on the surface, but it's not. Procrastination is a thief, robbing you of the pride of accomplishment, keeping you from reaching your potential, limiting the amount of joy and excitement you will experience in life and it can even hold you back from being a blessing to others. Procrastination is the jailer holding your dreams captive.

"Procrastination is opportunity's assassin." - Victor Kiam

It is time that you see procrastination for what it is - a fearmonger. That's right, the base of procrastination is fear. You might procrastinate out of laziness, but more times than not you procrastinate because you are afraid that the task may be too hard or unpleasant, you are afraid that you may fail, you are afraid of rejection or of what other people may think, you are afraid that your ideas aren't good enough or that no one would want to hear what you have to say.

If you truly knew what you were capable of - you would look fear square in the face and laugh. You would kick fear out of your life and procrastination along with it. Even though we have not met most of you, we can say with the utmost certainty that you are an amazing person who has a lot to offer this world. Please don't hold on to the bad habit of procrastination for one more day. We want to see what you are capable of.

In order for you to slay the procrastination dragon, you must be bold. You must face what you are afraid of and do it anyway. ACTION CURES FEAR. You must realize that if you don't act, you have already lost.

"There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction." - John F. Kennedy

Another great way to keep procrastination at bay is to associate with like-minded people who will encourage you and not belittle your ideas. Talk with them often. If you don't have people like that in your life already, then go to the bookstore a buy a positive inspirational book and read from it every day. Classics like, "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David J. Schwartz and "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale.

Now go and do what you have been putting off and remember the Chinese proverb, "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

********** Darren and Donna McNees are Authors of "The 21 Day Marriage Makeover: How to transform your marriage into one filled with more love, affection, fun and happiness." To experience your Marriage Makeover or to get your free bi-weeky newsletter containing proven yet simple advice designed to enrich your life and energize your marriage go to www.21DayMarriageMakeover.com. *********** Copyright © 2004 Darren & Donna McNees. Reprint permission is granted if the article is used in its entirety including all of the contact information above.

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