How To End Procrastination

Should you be happy in every moment? Should you be comfortable, devoid of illness and having no pain, in every moment? Such is not realistic. Certainly, you cannot wait until things are perfectly aligned before you start working on your purpose. Many people use the imperfection of the moment as their reason for non-action. Many people think, “oh well I have some pain or perceived illness today, so I really cannot do very much.” Indeed at times the body needs you to take it easy, and indeed there are times when you should heed those signals from the body and relax. Yet you must understand that imperfection is the normal state, and that as human, your brilliance emerges not from your ability to produce in perfect situations, for any organism can produce when the conditions are perfect for production. Instead, your brilliance and power as a human, emerges from your ability to produce in imperfect conditions.

Today (March, 20th, 2020), as I write, I do have the fatigue and sore throat of what seems to be a cold, as well as some jet-lag from yesterday’s 8-hour flight. I thought about taking it easy, but then I reminded myself of a principle of human power, which says that being human is difficult, and we are powerful in spite of this difficulty and because of this difficulty. I am considering that it is possible I may be well tomorrow, or it is possible that my symptoms may worsen, and maybe I will have the cold or the flu, or who knows what else. I consider that if I am able to keep my daily routine which includes exercise, writing, studying, and other professional commitments, which I could in theory reschedule – if I am able to do these things on the day when I have the lowest energy, then this shall make the work all that much easier on days when I do have more energy.

Add to this, the perspective of choice. I tell myself that I chose to have these symptoms today, and this week, as part of my “resilience training,” and as part of my training for being a human who fulfills his/her purpose on this planet, with relentlessness. That is what all things are, a form of training, and strengthening of the individual to fulfill his/her purpose in this life, and maybe even the next. The perspective of choice, when added to your thinking, can make so many more activities achievable. Human beings are able to be more powerful when approaching situations with the perception of choice. This is related to the perception of control, as when we feel that we have control over a situation, the anxiety regions of the brain are less likely to be activated, the fight or flight response is less triggered, and with such we can better sustain focus on our most important work. For you see, when those anxiety regions in the brain are activated, the brain converts dopamine into norepinephrine, and we lose a significant portion of the dopamine needed for extended focus, memory, motor control, and attention.

So, what you must do now, is to not simply tolerate the pain, the illness, the lack of energy, but take it to the next level. Imagine that you are the one in control, of your own ill feelings. Imagine that you have deliberately created these non-ideal states as part of your training. This is your training in the art of being a powerful human being. By so doing, your successful work today, will not only be about today, it will become part of your very character, and reverberate in your relentless soul, as long as you shall live. Now, you must begin your training.