KILL PROCRASTINATION BEFORE IT KILLS YOU
There is an age long folktale that is popular among the Igbos, the dominant ethnic group in South East Nigeria. This folktale is about the Frog and why it has no tail.
According to ancient myth, the creator called all the animals to a meeting where he would distribute tails to each of them according to their preferred specification. On the day of the meeting, the frog lay in bed and thought to itself that the creator won’t come so early and therefore there was no need to hurry.
At midday, when the frog eventually got up from bed, it said to itself that it would take several hours before the creator would have gone round distributing tails to all the animals in the kingdom, so there was ample time.
By the time the Frog got to the venue of the meeting, at dusk, the meeting had long been over and the creator had given tails to all the animals that requested for it, and had gone back up into the sky. This is why the frog has no tail till today.
Of course this story is a myth, but it was, and is still being used to illustrate the dangers of procrastination, and the need never to delay anything that must be done. Hence there’s a saying in Igbo language which roughly translates into: “there is time, there is time, that is why the frog has no tail.”
Procrastination is a killer of dreams. For success to be achieved, one must strive to win the battle over procrastination. There is this natural urge for humans ta chill and take their time, and indulge. However, nobody ever becomes great by chilling and indulging. The Bible, the holiest book for Christians, said in the book of proverbs, “a little sleep, a little slumber, and hunger will overpower you like a thief.”
How to overcome the habit of procrastination
1. Set a goal with a deadline: Setting a goal provides that push you need to achieve a task within a set period. So in your mind, you know there is something that must be done within a given time, and it spurs you into action.
Also, achieving your goal within the set timeframe gives you a feeling of accomplishment and joy, and this helps you to try to set more goals and meet them.
2. Reward yourself: Find ways to reward yourself after you have achieved your set goals within the set period. It makes you look forward to more self-rewards, which means, more goals achieved.
3. Apply the DIN formula: DIN simply stands for “Do IT NOW”. It is an acronym that you can be repeating to yourself whenever there is a task to be done and you feel like procrastinating. When you say to yourself “do it now”, it could motivate you to get up and get to work.
4. Look at the big picture: One of the reasons we strive and work so hard is to give ourselves and loved ones a better future. So create a mental picture of that good life you want for yourself and your loved ones, and whenever you feel like shifting an important task for later, or you feel like quitting, perhaps because things are getting too hard, look at that picture you have created in your mind, and motivate yourself to keep putting in the work.
Remember, just as it is important not to shift an important task for later, it also important not to shift a deserved rest for later. There is time for everything. As you go about meeting deadlines and hitting your goals, also remember that there is a time for rest, and that too must be observed at the set time.
So get up, and DO IT NOW.
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Thank you.