"Every situation - no, every moment - is of infinite worth; for it is the representative of a whole eternity." Johann Wolfgang GoetheThis week I discovered a book on improving the happiness quotient in our lives, Better Than Before, by Gretchen Rubin. It was no surprise that in the top five strategies to improve happiness in life included reducing (or eliminating) procrastination. I struggle with procrastination, and have for most of my life.
There are several reasons for this. I often find I stop making progress and begin procrastinating when I reach a point where I don't know how to continue, and I'm not willing to ask for help. Before I pray or fall back on any avoidance technique, I just procrastinate - the past of lease resistance. But there are other reasons that lead me to procrastinate: I don't like doing it; there is something else I would rather be doing; I'm not feeling well right now (physical or emotional); or, I'm feeling too good right now to break my stride (enjoying some level of success in another endeavor). Give me a minute and I'll come up with more reasons; I can always find a suitable excuse to procrastinate. Until recently I thought procrastination was all about avoiding something unpleasant. But when Better Than Before suggested there was a link to my happiness, I began to look at it differently. Avoiding something only rarely causes it to go away. Usually it just gets more urgent. To put an unpleasant task behind me, it not only lifts the weight of it off my shoulders, but I get to check off an item from my to-do list. I don't know about you, but I have lists...for everything. Even when I finish something that was not on my list for the day, I add it just so I can check it off. There is a real sense of accomplishment in surveying a list with lots of checks at the end of the day. It makes me Happy! (What a concept!) What is one project you are putting off until another time? For me, it's a phone call I need to make. I'm going to make that call when I close this post. How about you, are you ready to increase your happiness quotient?...right now? Lord, help me see procrastination differently; not as a means to avoid something, but as a deterrent to my happiness. Give me Your view of the potential for increased happiness when I'm tempted to procrastinate. Amen "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11 What are your thoughts? Libby Note: Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832), was a German poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher, diplomat, civil servant, attorney, scientist, inventor, and artist. His body of work remains pre-eminent in numerous fields still today.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
WelcomeI love the wisdom of the ages gleaned from relevant quotes. In them there is a connection to the human experience that crosses all borders. Join me as I relate my personal experiences, and link the wisdom of the quote to the Source of all wisdom: God's Word, the Bible. Enjoy, Libby Categories
All
Archives
July 2019
|