By idleness, I really mean procrastination. One of my friends recently showed me a DVD of one of Ellen DeGeneres's shows and her theme of choice is procrastination. You would have to see it to appreciate all of the clever and witty things she says, but trust me. If you have ever procrastinated, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you're a procrastinator, maybe you should put off reading the rest of this blog so you don't feel guilty about putting off all the things you should be doing rather than reading this blog.
For instance, instead of going running or finishing the waxing job on my car, I am sitting here, in my lovely room, thinking about doing those things. Why am I avoiding those activities? Well, partially because I'm lazy and I enjoy sitting in my bed and typing on the computer but also because I know those activities mean that my day has started and my "speedometer" will be at a high speed for the rest of the day. Who wants to start out weary? Not me. No way, Jose. So, I'll sit here and agonize and complain to whoever reads this.
Just kidding. I'm not going to complain. I want to explore the idea of procrastination because it's a curious concept. Consider this: There's a deadline approaching. It's for something pretty important to your life. It's kind of a big deal that you do this because it could determine what you do for the next year or so of your life. The result, however, is unknown and that is petrifying, paralyzing. You are so intimidated by the unknown that you put off facing the unknown until you absolutely have to face it, which, of course, will be last minute.
Many of my friends who are graduating this May with their undergraduate degree are facing this intimidating concept- grad school. There's also the phenomena of finding a job in a difficult economic atmosphere. I don't know about you, but the idea of being unemployed after attending a private university is enough to make me sweat. Ok. Let's not think about that until absolutely necessary. Let's watch the playoffs instead, even though our favorite team failed to even make a wild card game.
With the boom of technology and the conveniences we are accustomed to as Americans, we have too much at our fingertips to provide distractions, which fuel our tendencies of procrastination. I'm not complaining about laptops, internet, cell phones, etc... I am merely identifying several enablers. It's like the saying: "Saying that guns kill people is like saying that pencils cause misspellings." It has to do with the user. Now I sound like I'm referring to Tron. Shoot.
But seriously. The user of the conveniences is always faced with a choice. I usually chose the option that provides the least amount of stress and work for the immediate moment... and I would like to think that I have a strong work ethic. That choice is imperative, yet the gravity of it is lost on me. The culture of instant gratification has impeded our abilities to see further down the road. The cultivation of the 4G network is an example. Paying $19.99/mo for faster internet is another. Ok. Yeah, let's use all the technology we have to be more organized and to network and to keep in touch, but let's also never let the phone leave our hands and let's get all the apps we can on our iPhone or whatever because Heaven forbid us to have a moment of silence, or non-stimulation, where we realize what we're really doing, or the things we're missing, or even the things we're avoiding.
Procrastination doesn't only apply to deadlines. It applies to emotions. So many people have baggage and they leave it as baggage. The heavy things stay in neat compartments until someone decides he or she wants to know the real person. Then the baggage has to be heaved out and it's painful. Some baggage might never go away but some will. Putting off the processing of those things is a defense mechanism.
"I don't have time to deal with this right now."
"If I let myself process all of this, then I will be rendered useless to the world and I can't afford that right now."
"It will be less painful to deal with that later. I have too much on my plate."
Those are all things that I know I've said. I've said those relatively recently, too. How can I expect the baggage to disappear or to be less heavy when I don't open it and take some things out? That's insane and we all know the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
So why is procrastination so easy to use as an excuse? If we think about it, putting things off can be more harmful in the long run. Why are we so intimidated by the future and the unknown?
I take comfort in this: I can be intimidated by the future because there is Someone in charge who is not. I cannot see down the road any further than the next person but there is someone who created that road and is guiding me along. The unknown is scary to me...and I think it comes down to how much I trust God with my life, which is silly, considering he gave me life and he's orchestrating it...and everything goes better when I don't try to take over.
Long story short: Procrastination is for pansies who can't handle facing the progression of life. Change your perspective and realize that you were never in control nor expected to be in control. There are tasks we must complete and we are not able to to those with our own strength. So, let's resolve, among our failing New Year's resolutions, to stop procrastinating with stopping procrastination. We have nothing to fear and no reason to put off the important things.
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