Some people are habitual procrastinators. It doesn’t matter what it is—doing the dinner dishes, paying a bill, or writing a term paper—they put it off until the last minute. But even if you’re not a notorious deadline pusher, it’s likely there are at least a few things you tend to procrastinate about.
Maybe it’s starting that gym membership, or making a dentist appointment. Or it could be cracking open that textbook or cleaning out your garage. Whatever it is, it’s likely something that needs to be done and the results of which you’ll appreciate, but the task itself just isn’t very appealing.
In a blog article a few years ago, author Jon Bloom identified a pattern to the things we often procrastinate about. Here’s an excerpt:
“Think about this strange pattern that occurs over and over in just about every area of life:
- Healthy, nutritious food often requires discipline to prepare and eat while junk food is convenient, tasty, and addictive.
- Keeping the body healthy and strong requires frequent deliberate discomfort while it only takes moderate indulgence to go to pot.
- You have to make yourself pick up that nourishing but intellectually challenging book while flipping on the TV or popping in a DVD is as easy as coasting downhill.
- You frequently have to force yourself to get to devotions and prayer while sleeping in or cleaning that clutter or checking Facebook just has a gravitational pull.
- Learning to skillfully play beautiful music requires thousands of hours of tedious practice.
- Excelling in a sport requires monotonous drills ad nauseum.
- Learning to write well requires writing, writing, writing and rewriting, rewriting, rewriting. And usually voluminous reading.
- It takes years and years of schooling just to make certain vocational opportunities possible.
You get the idea.
The pattern in everything is this: the greater joys are obtained through struggle and difficulty and pain—things you must force yourself to do when you don’t feel like it—while brief, unsatisfying, and often destructive joys are as inviting as couch cushions.”
This pattern is further evidence that hard work is good for you! While easy indulgences bring fleeting gratification, it takes endurance to gain the greater rewards and deeper joys.
Yes, that donut would taste really good right now… but shedding five pounds and having a looser waistband would feel even better.
Yes, that couch and TV would be very welcoming right now… but packing the kids’ lunches tonight would make your morning routine much smoother.
Yes, that trip through the drive-thru would be convenient right now… but saving the money and going on a date night with your spouse next week would be much more fulfilling.
How about you? What are you procrastinating about? What indulgences could you say “no” to today or this week, choosing endurance and greater rewards instead? Make the choice and start now—I guarantee it’s worth it!
To read the full article by Jon Bloom, please click here.
