What do procrastination, wishful thinking, impulse purchases, and overeating have in common?
When you see the word PROCRASTINATION, what is the first thing that comes to mind? You can think of the word “delay” or “postponement”, right? Let’s first define the dictionary meaning of procrastinating:
prō or çras’tio nāte, vi; procrastinate, pl., pp .; procrastinate, ppr.
[from L. procratinatus, pp. of procratinare; pro, for, forward, and crastinatus, belonging to the morrow, from cras, tomorrow.] postpone doing something for the future; postpone or postpone the adoption of measures.
Syn. – postpone, postpone, delay, postpone
prō or çras’tio nā’tion, n. [L. procrastination (-on-is.)] the act or habit of procrastinating.
[Source: Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd Edition]
Now that it has been given the meaning, I am sure you are now wondering if you are a procrastinator. Well, almost everyone procrastinates sometimes. Even the most organized person in the world would also procrastinate from time to time. I don’t think procrastination is a bad thing. It only becomes a bad thing if it is done frequently and can no longer be controlled. When a person puts off something that is less important, it might be okay to put off things like cleaning the house, taking a bath, or just watching TV. The downside is that if you procrastinate for your job interview or buy a gift for a loved one, that will totally upset your loved one or they will not be accepted for the job. Anything that is extreme will actually turn out bad, of course.
Have you decided if you are a procrastinator? Do you always delay things that should have been done a long time ago, that resulted in dire circumstances? Think again. Procrastinators often delay so many tasks assigned to them in the office that paperwork piles up after a few hours. Delaying mealtime can lead to stomachaches or even worse.
Procrastination is an obstacle to happiness, so to speak. Why? It’s because instead of getting a raise from your boss, your procrastination tactics become the reason you couldn’t get it. Well, you are good and a fast worker, but you delayed most of the work that has deadlines. Another case is about your partner, you kept delaying your promises and soon you will lose it because you kept putting off dates, or things like that.
Delusions. A cliché that can be understood from the words themselves … wish which means longing or desire and from the word think which means thought. Are you the type of person who does nothing but keep wishing for things to happen instead of making things happen? If you are always thinking about a certain aspiration, think again? Wishing without doing won’t do you any good. It should always be about what you can do to achieve a certain goal. Now illusions won’t do anything unless you work on them. People should learn to work it instead of wanting it! This logic of illusions is not going to totally help a person to be happy at all times, therefore, it cannot lead to unhappiness due to the fact that they continue to wish but do nothing to make it happen.
Another obstacle to happiness is IMPULSE SHOPPING! I was once an impulsive shopper too! But now I’m glad I was able to get over it. There was a time last year when I had two jobs and had extra money, I always go to the malls and buy nice things even if I don’t need them. Sometimes I don’t even know where my money is going anymore. And by the time I worked two jobs for nine months, one day I realized that I could never save money. Then I quit my part-time job because I felt like I was physically exhausted from working 12 hours a day. Lately I have regained the sense that I have been spending my money on things that I don’t even need. I would have been happy now, knowing that I had saved money to use in the future, only to know that I don’t even have a penny.
The last example I’m going to point to is overeating. Fat people tend to overeat and enjoy it in the same way as when an impulsive shopper just bought something new. Overeating is also a barrier to happiness because, you get pleasure from it, but your body is the one that suffers because you gain weight. I’m not fat, but my friends who are fat really have a hard time dieting and maintaining their weight.
“What do procrastination, wishful thinking, impulse purchases, and overeating have in common?”
All of these that were mentioned are obstacles to achieving happiness. Why? Let’s point it out:
For PROCRASTINATION, which means delay, procrastinators also take pleasure when they don’t do something at the time and delay some work, but the problem here is that a procrastinator seeks short-term gain regardless of long-term pain. Looking at the examples I have given in the discussion on procrastination, the person delays some things and ends up sabotaging their success or ruining a relationship. Procrastination will never help you have a happy life. While wishful thinking, overeating, or overspending can minimize or maximize some parts of your life, wishful thinking, fewer accomplishments due to always wishing, overeating can make you fat, and overspending can cause you to lose money instead of saving. . All of these give pleasure for a short time, but the consequences that the person will get are really a pain. These obstacles often override our normal, rational selves. Most of the time we don’t even realize it because we seek the pleasure it brings us. What we don’t know is that it minimizes our success and happiness.
How do you get over it?
For procrastinators, think what good it will do you if you work on a task at the time it is assigned. Of course there are rewards that await you if you get your work done on time without delay. You will never know about the raise or promotion that awaits you. Think about the things that would motivate you and stick with the people who can encourage you to do so. Stay away from procrastinators because you could end up being a procrastinator again.
Wishful thinkers … stop thinking! Start acting!
For impulsive shoppers or excessive spenders, think about your future. Always keep in mind that before you buy something, think about whether you really need it or not. Is it a wish or a need or a need? Or you can steer clear of places where you know you can see things you like to buy. Lastly, don’t bring extra money, just bring the exact amount of money you’ll need when traveling by bus, having lunch, and extra money for coffee. That way, when you look at your wallet you will see that you don’t have enough money to buy something. Learn to control yourself and avoid buying. For those who overeat, stay away from food. Think of your figure! It is always better to be sexy to be able to wear anything! Don’t buy too much food that would make you eat more. But if you really couldn’t stop, try eating fewer calories and less fat.
All of this mentioned requires a couple of tries before it goes away completely. It is up to you if you can control yourself. But remember that you are the one who could heal yourself. Always think first before acting.
