Inside the mind of a procrastinator
‘Procrastination is the assassination of motivation.’
‘Procrastination is the thief of time.’
4782 Epigram On Procrastination
• Saying “It is too early,” makes it too late —Japanese Proverb
• Alexander the Great, being asked how he had conquered the world, replied, “By not delaying.”—Foster
• We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.
• The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
• Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it—Everywoman’s Family Circle
• Every time a man puts a new idea across, he finds ten men who thought of it before he did—but they only thought of it—Advertiser’s Digest
ge·sloer delay, dawdling, procrastination, uit·stel n. 1 delay, postponement, deferment; 2 procrastination; 3 stay, respite, extension of time; van uitstel kom afstel a (there is) no time like the present. [Pharos English-Afrikaans Dictionary]
Some general scriptures:
We must not procrastinate in choosing to serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15)
God does not procrastinate (Habakkuk 2:3)
Those who procrastinate lose out (Luke 14:16–21)
Today is the day to be saved (2 Corinthians 6:2)
No hurry to obey, 2 Chronicles 24:5 (cev).
Attempting to delay God’s call, Matthew 8:21–22; Luke 9:59–62.
Five procrastinating virgins, Matthew 25:2–13.
Making excuses, Luke 14:16–21.
Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. James 4:17 (NIV)
“What have you been postponing?
1. Indecision. “A double minded man is unstable in all he does.” (James 1:8 LB) Have you ever sent a waiter away at a restaurant because you couldn’t make up your mind? Indecision causes you to postpone buying a car, choosing a college, getting married, buying new clothes, changing a job.
2. Perfectionism. “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done!” (Ecclesiastes 11:4 LB) If you wait for things to be perfect, you’re going to wait a long time. You don’t have the time or the money for things to be perfect.
3. Fear. “The fear of man is a trap.” (Proverbs 29:25 LB) Have you been postponing going to the dentist? Or having that needed surgery? Or getting into marriage counseling? Sharing your faith at work? Ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?”
4. Anger. “A lazy person is as bad as someone who is destructive.” (Proverbs 18:9 GNT) Procrastination is a way to get back at people we don’t like. We delay. Kids are great at procrastination. You ask them to clean up their room. They do it but they take so long doing it. One of the reasons may be that they’re resisting your control. Procrastination is passive resistance. I don’t want to do it because I don’t like you telling me to do what I have to do. Anger causes us to put things off.
5. Laziness. “Lazy people want much but get little, while the diligent are prospering.” (Proverbs 13:4 LB) One of the most popular words in America is “easy.” If it’s easy, we like it. If it’s hard, we don’t like it. Can you imagine a best seller titled, “Ten Difficult Steps to Change Your Life” or “Fifteen Difficult Ways to Get in Shape”? If it’s easy, we like it. If it’s hard, we don’t like it. Enjoys comfort. Passivity.
6. Lack understanding. Prov 24:3 Understanding establishes you. You will only do that what you understand. Sometimes we simply do not know how to do it. It takes 20 hours to acquire a new skill. Break it down and make it simple, get the basic steps, practice these steps diligently.
7. Wait till it feels right. Being led by the Spirit is not a feeling. You will never feel like forgiving someone. Feel like giving something away. We are led by faith. Faith comes. Lack of faith is lack of spending time in the Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Rom 10:17. When you hear, do it immediately while there is faith. It gets more difficult to do it, the longer you procrastinate. God enables you to obey.
8. Shifting the blame, responsibility It is in human nature to wait for someone else. Bystander effect. The bystander effect, or bystander apathy, is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means of help to a victim when other people are present. The probability of help is inversely related to the number of bystanders. In other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. Catherine Susan “Kitty” Genovese (July 7, 1935[1] – March 13, 1964) was a New York City woman who was stabbed to death outside her apartment building in Kew Gardens, a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, on March 13, 1964. 37 or 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack and did not call the police. The incident prompted inquiries into what became known as the bystander effect or “Genovese syndrome”.
9. Disillusionment. We have tried and failed. We loose motion. 4770 Starting From Dead Stop – It requires six times as much power to start a flywheel from a dead stop, as it does to keep it going once it is in motion. A locomotive must exert a pull of as much as thirty pounds for every ton of weight in a railroad car to start it from a standstill, and even more in very cold weather. Once the car is in motion, only about three pounds per ton may be needed to keep it moving on a straight and level track. Disappointment can lead to passivity. We simply do not want to be hurt again.
10. False spiritual expectation. 1983 God gave AJP a prophetic word. I specifically waited on God, that He would appear to me. he said: “If I appear to you this is what I will tell you. ‘Go and preach the gospel… Make disciples, teach them, and I will confirm my word. Etc” It is not the appearance that makes the difference. It is our obedience. Some wait till God would directly speak to them, and miss God speaking through their wives, children and family. Jesus spend 30 years obeying earthly parents and a small family and community of people in Nazareth. God’s mission always remains the same: “go and tell”. There is no special message. It is His great commission to the church.
