the most pernicious habit of all
“Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: It snatches away each day as it comes and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today…The whole future lies in uncertainty: Live immediately.” — Seneca
For us successheads and achievers, the most harmful and destructive habit of all is procrastination. It acts like a slow poison and before we know it, much harm has been done.
Procrastination coupled with momentum is the worst trap of all; it initiates a vicious cycle that gets harder and harder to escape from. Sooner or later, we lose our verve, our vitality, and our innate drive to accomplish things.
When we put things off once, it gets easier to put them off the second time, the third time, and again and again, until it becomes a habit so deeply ingrained in our mind that it cannot be easily uprooted. The negative effects of the habit of procrastinating, unfortunately, by virtue of the compound effect, keep adding up, causing further damage to our work lives.
So, what’s the cure for procrastination? Naturally, it’s consistent and persistent action.
British Prime Minister and author Benjamin Disraeli once said, “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”
When you take charge, roll up your sleeves and start knocking off things one by one, within a few hours, you begin to feel better about yourself and your situation. You regain your confidence and optimism back.
Even if you get some little things done in the beginning, any tasks actually, you gradually get the momentum rolling in the other direction. Action supersedes non-action, and your progress soon helps you experience positive emotions again, further fueling your productivity and performance, and getting you back on the upward positive spiral.
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