Friday, January 13, 2012

Procrastination Could Save Your Life

All of my life, I've been counted as nothing if not a procrastinator. Why, consider this post...it was planned months ago, and I'm just now at peace with writing it. To be honest, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to put it off longer. I'm sure there's something on TV. While my wife will argue otherwise, I remain convinced that procrastination produces some of my best work. By the end of this post, you may find yourself reluctantly considering agreement - when you get around to it, of course - that procrastination, in fact, could be the very reason I'm still alive at the ripe old age of thirty-three (soon to be thirty-four, bear in mind). Allow me to state my case, if you please.

The Christmas decorations are just waiting for me to take them back up to the attic. A real go-getter would have this finished by now. For the sake of argument, let's just entertain the notion that I decide to get on top of things, and I take charge, and I hazard a little physical exertion, and I march into the living room, grab the boxes, and haul 'em up the ladder. Consider the possible consequences of such gumption, for just a responsible minute.

What if the ladder breaks - it is, after all, quite old - and I fall from the attic to my death? Did you ever think about that? My wife hadn't, either...sadly.

Even now, she's out buying me a snow shovel, and she'll likely expect me to actually use it this season...perhaps even tomorrow. Let's say I tap into a hidden, and rarely utilized, rush of motivation, run out into the frozen driveway with new shovel in hand, hit a patch of black ice, fall down next to the SUV, hitting my head on the tow hitch...dead. It could happen.

Thank goodness mowing season is months away...there's a whole list of other inherent risks with that little chore. Equipment malfunction causing deadly explosions, varmin that may attack to protect their dwellings and their young, poison ivy, hidden fissures on the earth's surface, landmines left over from the war...no thank you! I'll take my time and mow on my own life-saving terms, thank you very much.

I'm sure you're starting to see my point of view. These things that apparently have to be done yesterday are the very things that could kill you. So please...take a page out of my book (or blog, as it were) and procrastinate. Chances are, it will be there tomorrow. Rush into it, and you may not be.

I've said too much.

1 comment:

  1. I've always said "Why do TODAY what you can put off till TOMORROW"....

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