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The final installment of the year-end look back at the top posts of 2013. Originally posted on June 24, here’s “The Difference Between Dead and Sleeping.”
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In a prior post, “Seeing, Believing, Doing,” I discussed how “doing” is the hardest part – but also the most important. You can bet that the more significant something will be for your life or your future, the harder it will be to actually do, and the easier it will be to put off. You’ll find a new excuse everywhere you look.
Procrastination can be elevated to an art form. I know this. I was once am still a virtuoso in that particular art.
I recall an especially long Sunday as a high school senior when I wrote two term papers back-to-back. The subjects had been assigned weeks before, but I waited to start writing them until the night before they were due. Why? I wish I knew.
More recently, I’d thought about starting a blog. Several years later, I finally made the serious decision to do it. Then after committing to it, I still managed to drag my feet for five more months before the first post went up.
What are we doing when we avoid “doing?” Is it just laziness? Are we afraid? If so, what are we afraid of? Failure? Success? Change? Responsibility?
I used to think, “Why do today what you can put off indefinitely?” But I must confess, I’m getting better. What I’ve begun to figure out is this: when you don’t feel like doing something, that’s probably the best time to do it. You have to get up and get going. Do what ever you need to do to get it in gear. Just start.
Procrastination is slow death. The longer you’re stalled, the harder it is to get started, and waiting for “the right moment” is a fool’s game. The right moment is when you make it. The right moment is now.
If something important is in your future – a career change, starting your own business, an artistic endeavor, changing your lifestyle for the sake of your health – don’t put it off.
There are three states of being we can use as metaphors. The first two are being alive and being dead. The third state is in-between. It’s sleeping.
Too many of us are sleeping our way through life. The obvious difference between dead and sleeping is that if you’re sleeping, you’re still alive. The problem is, when you’re sleeping, you’re accomplishing exactly the same thing as you would when you’re dead. Your “sleeping” life is all in your head. It’s not real. You’re not accomplishing anything.
Sleep too long, and all those dreams can soon turn into nightmares. So don’t just dream them. Wake up and do them.
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Happy New Year!
