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Source: https://www.koboeducation.com/2022/03/how-to-stop-procrastination-enemy-that.html


We all know the meaning of procrastination. No need for any long definition. It is simply postponing or refusing to do what you are expected to do in this present moment, thereby choosing to do other inconsequential things that will not help you to move forward in life. These inconsequential things will give pleasure to the soul, but will not allow you to achieve your goals in life. When you are expected to go to a very important place or embark on an important project (that can change your life for good) at this very moment and you postpone it to other times or another day that is procrastination. Some people are chronic procrastinators and they wonder why they don’t make headway in life. In the past, I was wallowing in this debacle before I decided to break out.

When you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of something and you discover that the disadvantages are more than the advantages, what will you do? Continue with such habit or discard it? Procrastination will only give you a little relief, small high and pleasure at the moment you indulge in it but it eats or takes away the most valuable thing from your life which is TIME. There is nothing of benefit you’d derive from procrastinating except feeling relieved for a moment. You lose whenever you procrastinate. You think that you are saving yourself from troubles and setbacks but you are dallying and making no tangible progress. One needs to keep moving forward to make progress in life. If you don’t want to make progress in life, then you should continue to procrastinate. How will you move forward if you continue to procrastinate to do the things that will set you high above? It is impossible.



CAUSES OF PROCRASTINATION

A number of things can make a person to procrastinate. If you are aware of them, you’ll know how to tackle them.

They are:


1. Fear of failure and rejection

2. Low self-esteem

3. Negative expressions and thoughts

4. Making unnecessary excuses

5. Laziness and lack of Gusto

6. Complaining and whining

7. Addicted to many worthless things etc.

If you are confronted with any of the above, it is wise to break free from them or you’ll keep on procrastinating important things until you are 6 feet down (in the grave). Would you love to live that kind of life? Breaking free from them is hard, but if you are passionate about succeeding then you don’t have any option than to try your best. Even if you lose sleep for sometimes, knowing full well that you won’t continue that way forever.


What will happen to you if you are a chronic procrastinator


Sorry to say, if you are poor you should not get involved in procrastination at all. Listed below are the setbacks that will afflict anyone who procrastinates all the time.


Lack of funds:

This is not for rich kids or those who are rich, but if you are struggling financially, procrastination can bring you down to the lowest levels. There are lots of opportunities that someone will miss if he or she fails to shun procrastination. The things or the kind of work you’d have done to increase your finances will be hindered by procrastination. How can you get what you don’t work for? If you get anything you don’t work for then you are just lucky and in a population of over 200 million people, getting lucky is very rare. If you continue to defer what you are expected to do today to another day, your finances will suffer. You will keep on getting little and never satisfied. While you are dying inside and craving to fulfill your desires, another person who didn’t give procrastination a chance in his life is enjoying his or herself with all the good things money can buy. People who procrastinate or postpone their work are slowly drifting away to living a life of penury.


You’ll become inactive:

As humans, we are meant to move forward and trod onward in life. However, many factors hold us back. Procrastination is one of them. If you defer what you are supposed to do now (today, this very moment) to another day (tomorrow or next), there’s a probability that you will also postpone it the day after and the circle continues. In the end, you will realize that you lived an ordinary life. You won’t know what you are capable of. The place where your voice or expertise is needed will also suffer. You won’t be able to achieve some great things if you are not active. And being active means doing what you are supposed to do without procrastinating. If what you want to do is virtuous or the right thing, do it. Don’t procrastinate because of fear. Procrastination leads to a dormant life.


Depression:

Have you ever postponed a very important thing before? Many people have done that in the past and the aftermath is sadness and regret. They will tell themselves that next time, they will do this or that. But when the circle continues with no light at the end of the tunnel, they will fall into a deep depression and this could lead to the most dangerous thing procrastination can do to someone (number 4). Though it means nothing to some people, for some they’d be sad if they did not succeed.


I know that success is controlled by fate but some people are the cause of their downfall and failure. They are not capable of doing what they are expected to do due to some minor things, setbacks, and distractions. Finally, when you are approaching old age and you realized that you have not achieved anything because of procrastination, you will likely fall into depression. Young people (especially, those who are poor), if you want to succeed please don’t give procrastination a chance. Those who are there before understands where I am driving at. Use your time wisely and you won’t regret or fall into depression.


Suicide:

There are other things procrastination can cause but let’s stop at suicide. Some people who commit suicide do that because of hopelessness and depression. When they see that they can’t achieve what they want to achieve or simply when they lose hope they see suicide as their escape route. Suicide is not an option but to them, it is over. Procrastination eats away the time you would have used to improve your life and leave you destitute. Unless someone has a mental disorder, if he or she is successful he or she won’t think of suicide. What is the way forward here; anything that will make you procrastinate should be shunned or avoided. Some other things that will happen to a chronic procrastinator are:


1. You won't know what you are capable of

2. Endless seeking of pleasure can cause someone to dally

3. Doing worthless kinds of stuff that won’t take you forward

4. Constant fear (Action cures fear) etc.


HOW TO STOP PROCRASTINATING

Cut down your quest for pleasure:

If you are the kind of person that can stay glued to a TV screen or your handset for a long time, you ought to reduce it if not you’ll continue to procrastinate till Jesus comes. Delay gratification or better still don’t seek them out. Some of these things we think are enjoyable are probably not worth it. We can do without them, but we end up wasting a lot of time seeking them out. Find happiness and satisfaction in your work. It is the only true happiness you will ever experience. If you continue to seek pleasure from external stuffs, you’ll continue like that till the end. News, stories, Facebook, and Instagram are all great and useful but if you don’t utilize them well, it will turn your life upside down. The way forward is cutting down on how you make use of them if they are not helping you to grow. We humans are made to grow.


If you are hustling offline, forget about posting pictures on Facebook or Instagram (if it is not giving you money now or in the future) and focus on your offline hustle. It pays to be diligent in your work, however seeking pleasure from external things will cloud your mind and leave you confused and irritated. Addicted to anything? If yes, you should try to break free, because as it gives you pleasure, it also takes away your time. At times, you might be watching a very interesting movie and end up postponing important projects or things that will take you higher. If what you are enjoying right now is wasting your time, it is advisable to discard it. Don't hide under the guise of finding inspirations or motivation. Just get a little inspiration and get started immediately.


Be fearless (think about the ephemeral of life):

One of the things that can make someone procrastinate is fear (fear of mockery, rejection, disappointment, failure and death). It is okay to have the feeling of fear but it is not okay when you procrastinate or postpone important things because of fear. Honestly, there is nothing to be afraid of in the first place, but society has brainwashed a lot of us to do their bidding which is not always right. For any kind of fear, solutions abound. It takes time to master them, but what works mostly for some people is reminding themselves of their mortality.


So anytime you are afraid of anything, isolate your fear and tell yourself that whatever you are going to do you’ll do it right and if it did not work well and you get mocked or humiliated, it still doesn’t matter because in the next 200 years, you’ll be no more and so will the people who cared to store the history (what you did in the past) in their brain. It will not be written down in history that you fumbled the first time you tried to approach a girl or the first time you tried to do something. And even if it is written down in history of what good is it to you? None! Look at all the great men and women, the great inventions, and events in the past all gone.


Some are forgotten while some are remembered. Everything will seize to exist one day. Reminding yourself of your mortality will help you to use your time wisely and not give in to distractions, fear, depression and the end result which is procrastination. Failing is part of life and if you are afraid to fail, you won’t achieve great stuffs. The only thing you should fear is laziness, procrastination, seeking for external validation and FEAR itself. No matter what you pass through, always know that you won’t be alive in the next 200 years. Use that as fuel to continue pursuing your life’s goal.


Remind yourself of the things you'd enjoy:

There are consequences to every action we take. Procrastinating or postponing an important thing will only hinder you from enjoying what you ought to enjoy. To get yourself out of the shackles of procrastination, always remind yourself of the benefits that come with taking some actions (you are aware of those actions). If going for a job interview will land you a dream job with better pay, why not prepare and go? Why dally? A person who is focused on doing what is his or hers to do, will enjoy countless blessings and live his life in glory, equanimity and tranquility. Don’t allow procrastination to eat away your life’s goal.

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