Procrastination pt2

Good morning! Or, Grand Rising! as TikTok etymologists would say. They do have a point: words have far more power than we are initially led to believe. The "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is only surface-level. Even the strongest of confidence and ego are affected on a subconscious level and are susceptible to erosion. The argument is words are spells, and I find it hard to disagree. Ancient civilizations certainly believed so, whether they actually practiced witchcraft (if it exists) or were just grounded and aware of how everything is energy and frequency. I wonder how hearing "mourning" every single day might affect us?

I thought it would be apropos to procrastinate this post with a preluded tangent. I am not an expert on procrastination especially as I still do it daily. It is a major hurdle in my life that I ultimately allowed to exist as I have never had the understanding and mindset to conquer it. It is the core reason why I did not excel in school - I could ace tests, but I almost never did homework. I waited to the very last minute for every single school project and paper, all the way through university. I was and am capable of writing well, but never on the first draft. Every time I received my graded papers I was appalled at my own writing and frustrated with myself that I couldn't seem to self-motivate ahead of time to allow for editing and revision. As such, I've consistently failed to further my career, finish my own projects and create anything of substantial value because I've relied on external sources in fear of consequence. A trap so many people fall into and never escape.

Unlike in Procrastination pt1, I wasn't making any steady progress on my own. I procrastinated on writing this post and others, but I am actually fulfilling it without the aforementioned motivation factors. I've learned so much in my life, including lots of little things that add up to the mindset and mentality I have and continue to develop. I recently reframed what "wants" and "needs" really are: our needs are derived from our wants. I need to work out, because I want to be physically fit, look good and live longer. I need to write these posts, because I want to create a habit of writing daily, expressing myself and connecting with other intellectually motivated people. I need to turn my ideas into reality, because I want to be the positive change I want to see in the world.

I don't know how to teach how to conquer procrastination, other than "just do it!" Well, do a little bit each day, not all at once. Be content with minimal but consistent progress. It is something that has to click within you. For me, it was years of avoidance and frustration bubbling up to a series of mental breakdowns that ushered in this newfound willpower to do. I'm still not sure if that was an inevitability. I still clearly struggle with procrastination but that is primarily due to my lack of a structured routine (work-in-progress). The goal is always to be better than yourself. Be better than who you were yesterday. That's all we can really ever strive to do.

No particular quote regarding this topic appears in my mind to share with you. There are great quotes and ideas attempting to convey the importance of doing things daily and living in the present moment, for that is all we have and is the only way to better our tomorrow and future. Hearing or reading these quotes can resonate with us, but it takes a certain something for it to click in a way to make us act. While I still struggle giving it my all, my objective is this:

     “...the best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today's work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future.” - Dale Carnegie