A Relatively New View of Procrastination (Part 3)

It doesn’t matter why we do it; the point is, if we want to accomplish things that are important to us, we can’t afford to do it.

So the question is, how do we quit doing it?

And the answer is, by reversing the behaviors that got us into the habit.

We need to re-develop a sense of urgency. I’m amazed when I have a client who seems to take his or her bad habits and troubles so lightly they can procrastinate indefinitely. We also need to stop making excuses. Words have never spoken louder than actions.

You’ve probably heard or read by now the motivator about the lion and the gazelle. (Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.)

You don’t have to run. Unless that’s your thing, of course, then by all means, run all you like. But you have to do whatever it is that you do. Whatever actions are required to get you toward your goal or help you fulfill your purpose.

I know it’s hard getting up a little earlier. Do it anyway. I know it’s tough, using the remote to turn the TV off and getting up to go for a walk. Do it anyway. I know it can hurt a little to give up bad habits. Here’s a band-aid; now do it anyway. Nobody said you had to like the process (although it won’t work if you can’t appreciate the end result).

As my pirate friends say, better step to!