“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone”

Pablo Picasso

 

Should I mow the lawn today or wait until next week?

Can my hair go another few days until I get it cut?

Should I clean my bathtub today or try doing it tomorrow?

I am terrified of calling my estranged father today because of what he might say and how he will make me feel – and besides, he treated me so poorly.

We all recognize the signs of procrastination. Sometimes it is based predominantly on laziness – no harm no foul by delaying the action that will get done sooner or later.

However, where one is unsure of the outcome resulting from a perceived dreaded action, where deep down we feel it is a matter that we should take care of, fear and uncertainty takes over and can often paralyze us into inaction. We become so anxious and fearful of the outcome – sometimes we never embark on it and perchance – it becomes no longer possible.

Never does a day go by that I am not grateful for taking the bold and challenging step to reach out to my aging and estranged father – with one last gut-wrenching effort. And rarely a day goes by when someone I encounter does not own up to having their own family separation they are battling and yes, procrastinating over.

Ask yourself this … how long do you plan to wait until the choice is taken away from you?

That can of course mean one of two possibilities. You die first or they do. Then the choice is no longer a choice, but now the survivor of the bitterness lives forever with the reality confirmed as a permanent state. It is funny, we avoid the hard decision, one that can ultimately bring relief or resolution, but by not making the choice, the upshot is a life sentence of a painful matter unresolved that could have been undertaken.

 Once the choice has been taken away – now what? Guilt? Remorse? Regret?

So taking action is hard? You feel the other person should make the first move. They were in the wrong you were the wronged? They need you more than you need them. The hell with ‘em!

Is it your pride that is holding you back? Stubbornness? Refusing to give in? Feel it is a characteristic of weakness?

One last thought. Think of the example we are setting for our children. What are we teaching them? What if the shoe were on the other foot?

I do hope that someone out there reads this and chooses a different path and as a consequence receives an unexpectedly wondrous result … just one of you.

“We were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion. Never glimpse the truth – then it’s far too late when they pass away”

George Harrison