Procrastination: the Ultimate Human Weakness

“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.”— Benjamin Franklin

Procrastination is the sole reason for the difference between what most of us intend to do and what we actually do; It's the primary cause of the gap between our lofty intentions and our erratic actions. Procrastination accounts for why many people are not living the best version of themselves.

The habit of procrastination is the source of the greatest waste in this world: the wanton waste of the most limited and the most precious resource of time—the only resource we need, to achieve all else on this planet, the only resource no one can get back, once it is gone. 

In this article, my definition of procrastination is not limited to the chronic laziness of the pathological dregs of humanity, but it extends further to a trend that is common even among the responsible folks; it is about our tendency to fill up our days with the things of lesser value which we may enjoy doing, in the stead of the things of greater value which we may find quite unpleasant. 

If you are someone like I used to be, someone who procrastinates a lot on difficult but important matters, then know that this insidious trait will limit not only your professional success but also the quality of your relationship with friends and family.

However, if you are serious about beating your internal enemy, there is good news; the good news is: you can beat procrastination forever. By applying the concepts enumerated in this article, you will overcome your natural impulse to habitually put off important things until later.

First, to fortify yourself against this ferocious enemy within, I challenge you to always rethink your choices—anytime you are tempted to goof off—with some tough questions like:

What impact will doing the right thing today instantly have on my career, my mood, and my self-respect?

Will slacking off make me feel better about myself, many years from now?

What opportunities will I miss tomorrow if I fail to seize the fleeting moment today?

By pausing to think deeper about our momentary choices through piercing questions and sound logic, we will be able to make better choices and smarter decisions going forward. 

Procrastination diminishes our self-confidence, while taking action and doing the right things—on time— improves our self-esteem. Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of United Kingdom, once said that your happiest days are the days in which you have a lot of things to do on your list at the beginning of the days, and you manage to get them all done by the end of those days. 

In reality, when we are active doing what we should be doing, we feel better about ourselves. But when we are passively—or actively— doing otherwise, we feel worse in return. 

David Reynolds, the author of ‘Constructive Living’ has something to say in this direction. He stresses the importance of self-discipline on the level of our self-esteem.

He says: “The more control we develop over our actions, the more chance we have of producing a self we can be proud of.”

Ostensibly, there is no self-control until the habit of procrastination is overcome. 

And there is a truism in my culture that says, ‘Delay is dangerous.’ Yes, it is! Without a doubt, delay is not neutral, it is toxic. This is because it gradually erodes the core of our being: our self-esteem. 

And if you think about it, you will realize that mediocrity of every kind comes from a dearth of confidence and low self-esteem, the definite byproducts of the habit of procrastination. 

This is why the author of ‘Teamwork & Team Sabotage,’ Alyce Cornyn-Selby said:

“Procrastination is, hands down, our favorite form of self-sabotage.”

So whenever you put off doing important stuff, remember that what you are doing is not harmless; what you are doing is dangerous. You are essentially disabling yourself because you are depleting your most precious asset in personal effectiveness: self-confidence.

How to Overcome Procrastination

Any day you’re inundated with distractions and you don’t feel pumped to make the most of your time, just take a deep breath, and ask yourself any of these two questions:

“What is important now?”

Or….:

“What needs to be done now?”

Once you get a clear answer, follow it up by another simple but powerful mantra from W. Clement Stone, the author of ‘The Success System that Never fails’:

“Do it Now.”

Say it out loud and act upon it immediately. 

If you really put this into practice, you will be amazed, not only at the level of control you can instantly wield over your own behaviour but also on the volume of essential things you can get done on a daily basis. 

This is how to close the gap between who we are and who we can become. This is how to join the rank of the great dynamos of this era, those whom Norman Vincent Peale, the author of ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ described as the lively people on this planet.

In his words, he said: “The really happy people are those who have broken the chains of procrastination, those who find satisfaction in doing the job at hand.” 

You see, the most effective people on the planet are not necessarily the most naturally gifted, but they are those who have broken the spell of procrastination. And as a result, they always manage to get more valuable things done than everyone else.

To improve our effectiveness, the English philosopher, Francis Bacon urges us rightly when he said:

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand— melting (away) like a snowflake.”

In conclusion, to move from who we are actually being into who we are capable of being, we should make asking this one—at every moment of the day—question a daily habit in our lives: 

‘What is important now?’

Once we are clear on the answer, we must waste no time to spring into action. And to also keep doing that, we should prod ourselves further with the aid of the aforementioned mantra:  

‘Do it now.’

To gain mastery over the vice of procrastination is to gain practical control over the ultimate weakness that is keeping the majority humankind down. 

Once you do, your life will take a giant leap forward, forever.