Procrastination - Rearranging The Deck Chairs on The Titanic

A friend once said to me that procrastination was like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. While it made for alternate seating arrangements, the damn boat was sinking and life jackets were needed – quick. There was action, but, not the kind required to have any positive effect on the lives of the passengers.

"The essence of procrastination lies in not doing what you think you should be doing, a mental contortion that surely accounts for the great psychic toll the habit takes on people. This is the perplexing thing about procrastination: although it seems to involve avoiding unpleasant tasks, indulging in it generally doesn't make people happy."

~ James Surowiecki

It is remarkable how busyness creates distraction when an unpleasant job needs doing, a hard decision needs making, or a truth needs telling, leaving us in a cold sweat of looming avoidance and an atmosphere of dread. Ugh.

“To do what we fear is the first step to success.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

I follow and read a lot of what Caroline Myss has to say on the subject of how “Our biography becomes our biology”. We put time in the way of our intuitive knowingness because we fear change. We put dysfunction, and staying emotionally frozen in time, in our path, rather than break free into the unknown and risk losing control. The irony of course, is the myth that we ever had control of the outcome. If we did, it would have turned out differently the first time. Being stuck in this passive, inert, tension creates and perpetuates stress in the body that can lead to chronic and long-term health issues and dis-ease when not addressed. The roadblock of self-imposed fear, scares us enough that we avoid painful feelings and unpleasant tasks, thus creating ill health, both mental and physical. These cycles of fear repeats a loop of behaviour that feeds addictions and habits to overcome.

"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy."

~ Wayne Gretzky

Leaving a toxic work environment, ending an abusive relationship, or walking away from a “frienemy” leaves an open space where fear previously resided. Looking for restitution in a person or environment that has never supplied it, will lead to frustration, heartache, and self-punishment. It is not good for the soul and it’s not good for the body. It sticks in our DNA, organs, systems, and causes dis-ease.

"Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."

~ Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

I encourage you to start with small baby steps and break free of procrastination. Stop rearranging the deck chairs and put on your life jacket. Increase your chances to survive and thrive in a world that needs your gifts. You are the only one who can share them. Staying small and invisible doesn’t serve you. Shining brightly and sharing wholly and completely offers your divinity and love to the world. It will create within you an exponential energetic field of potential. It can’t help but expand to fill the lives of others and help grow their field as well. Take the plunge. The water may be ice cold, the terror may be palpable, but the alternative is not worth sticking around for. Face fear, release yourself from the yoke of oppression, and sail into the sun with abandon. Facing the truth, and taking action, really does set you free.

“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.”

~ Shannon L. Alder

Carpe Diem!

Susan Lee Woodward Writer/Blogger Medical Intuitive Reiki Practitioner Meditation Teacher Laughter Yoga Facilitator