Too many times we stand aside And let the waters slip away 'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow Has now become today So don't you sit upon the shoreline And say you're satisfied Choose to chance the rapids And dare to dance the tide.
Garth Brooks, "The River", April 1992
I was listening to country music, the music that I listened to in high school, and this particular verse stuck in my head. I know my mom doesn't like country music, but this thought is about the message, not the song or the singer. 😁
I struggle with procrastination. Especially when there are rapids, or, rather, it's difficult. But that is how we get better. Rather than sit back and watch, and stay on the shore, and NOT grow and develop, I need to just dive in.
When I absolutely need to get things done, I do them, right away. But...when I know I have time, I put those things, those tasks, off until later. And, most of the time, that "later" becomes now and, all of a sudden, I feel overwhelmed.
I don't know if it's because I do much better under pressure so I wait until the pressure is greater. Or, if I do it because I tend to focus better when I "have" to get it done. Or, if it's because I have a hard time finding the proper motivation to do it today, instead of tomorrow.
It's probably a mixture of all of the above.
My blessing says that "you are not here to while away the hours of this life, but to prepare yourself day by day". It is easy to "while away" the hours because time is going fast, even hastening, and, before I know it, it's now tomorrow.
We have been blessed with technology in our day. This technology, in handheld form, reminds me of things I should be doing. Most of the time, I "snooze" those reminders until I can get to them....later. Again, putting them off. I need to not only stop doing that, but put more thought into scheduling an appropriate time to have my phone remind so that I won't snooze those reminders until later in the first place.
Always something to work on, it seems. But, if I were perfect, I would be translated! So, you're all stuck with me. 😁
Another line from the song... "I'll never reach my destination, if I never try".
I plan on trying harder. I plan on facing the rapids. I may drown sometimes, in fact, I will drown sometimes. That shouldn't stop me. The beauty of age is experience and, hopefully, wisdom. Priorities then adjust to doing things that truly matter.