This is not about New Year Resolutions. This is about putting off doing things good or bad in your life until…. The until times mount up quickly; until you have more money, until you have more time, until you drop 15 pounds, until you meet your insurance deductible, until you are in that area, until next week, next month, next year. Sooner or later until the ‘until’ never happens.
Gift cards from companies have been banking on this procrastination behavior for years. The card may have an expiration date of 6 months or 1 year or no expiration date and still many people never use them. They fall into the trap of waiting for the right time, the right reason, or the right gift to use the card. Some airlines are now putting a deadline on frequent flyer miles. No activity in 12 or 18 months and all those miles you have been saving until you have enough will be gone.
A colonoscopy, a visit to the dentist, or a mammogram can easily come under the put off until later category. But what if there is no until because you put off too long? What if you lose all those gift cards and the people who gave you them want to know what you bought? What if that perfect trip to France you have been planning with your miles and vacation days doesn’t happen? Can you still have just as good of a vacation using those miles to Louisiana instead? Do not even get me started on putting off the mammogram or the dentist visit. In your closet, what about that good suit you are saving until the right situation? It is going out of style as we speak!
What makes life interesting is that things change. No life is ideal and waiting until whatever is not making life Today any more interesting. I say do not put off the good or the bad UNTIL; add some interest to your life today!
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Add a Comment6 Comments
Rosa, You are right. Doing everything immediately and never relaxing is not any better than putting off until inertia sets in!
February 7, 2010 - 3:05pmThis Comment
Diane--you can borrow him whenever you want but he is a NEEDY child. You have been warned.
Melissa-- You bring up a very good point. I think either end can be detrimental to your health. The key is to find a happy-medium that will avoid the anxiety that both cause. I had a friend who was like that and her anxiety levels were constantly through the roof.
February 7, 2010 - 2:20pmThis Comment
How about the opposite? Learning how to procrastinate? I am the type of person who never relaxes!
February 7, 2010 - 11:52amThis Comment
Haralee,
I am a horrible procrastinator. Perhaps I spent too many years working in newspapers -- if there's no external deadline, things sometimes just don't get done. I could really use some sort of system for making sure I actually accomplish my "untils."
Maybe I could rent your toddler, Rosa? LOL!
January 29, 2010 - 10:29amThis Comment
Great share! I have slowly but surely improved on procrastinating now that I have a toddler. Believe it or not, children are a great way to make us realize how much we procrastinated when they weren't around for us to feed, dress, change, etc. etc. etc.
I wholeheartedly agree that procrastination should be avoided especially when it comes to health matters. There are many poor outcomes that can be avoided if only we payed more attention to our bodies.
January 28, 2010 - 2:10pmThis Comment
Rosa you are so right, toddlers do not grasp delay very well and force us to live in the present while we teach them self control!
January 28, 2010 - 6:25pmThis Comment