It’s time to quit quitting
Success is a tale of obstacles overcome, and for every obstacle overcome, an excuse not used.
Robert Brault,
It seems that lately I have become more prone to delaying tasks for no real reason other than laziness or avoidance, it can’t be procrastination or could it? Is the rationale for delay nothing more than an excuse to avoid doing something of value? if the truth be known in my case it probably is. You may have heard me talk before about how things that are not critical and really not that important can create unnecessary burdens, well that continues to be the trap I often find myself in.
My problem has always been that I maintain a triage discipline at the wrong end of time. For years it has only been after the backlogs get so large and the piles so high that they can no longer be avoided that I go through the process of throwing out the stuff that is really not worth any effort, and those things that were not of great enough interest to attract my attention, and then unfortunately, things of value that got lost in the shuffle until it was too late to do anything with them.
Of course the answer is to triage everything upon receipt. If something is not all that important why put it on the list in the first place? Not only that, I am at the point in life where I am my own boss so if I am really not all that fired up about something why take it on? I guess part of my problem is that I am interested in too many things and would never have time to do all I would like to do but more times than not I am not honest enough with myself to recognize my limitations. So this time it is going to be different, I’ll clean up the stacks, set priorities, take action and clear the decks and never ever get bogged down again; at least not until next time. Until then, no more excuses, no more procrastination (starting tomorrow).
I think I better read what Ralph Marston sent me about excuses again.
Laugh at every excuse
The easiest thing in the world is to come up with an excuse for not taking action. No matter what the situation, there’s always an excuse that sounds perfectly reasonable and that can provide you with permission to do nothing.
Rarely does it help to fight against the excuses, because that just leads to even stronger and more compelling excuses. So how do you get around them?
Connect with a dream that is bigger than any excuse could possibly be. Grab hold of a dream that’s so compelling it makes you laugh at every possible excuse.
If your goal is to do what you don’t really want to do anyway, even the weakest excuse can stop you cold. If, however, your goal is tied to an authentic, personally meaningful dream, that’s a completely different situation.
And that makes perfect sense. Because if it doesn’t really matter to you anyway, there’s not much point in spending your precious time on it.
Choose instead to live the beautiful, meaningful dreams that you truly desire to live. And no setback, no challenge, no excuse will have the power to even slow you down.
OK, Ralph, starting tomorrow I’ll change my procrastination nightmares into fulfilling dreams. Maybe I’ll just throw everything away and start fresh oh wouldn’t that be nice. Well since tomorrow is Saturday and it will be the weekend maybe I better wait to start not waiting until Monday.
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If you don’t want to do something, one excuse is as good as another.
Yiddish Proverb
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This comes from a Catholic elementary school. Kids were asked questions about the Old and New Testaments. They have not been retouched or corrected (i.e., incorrect spelling has been left in.)
1. In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world, so he took the Sabbath off.
2. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah’s wife was called Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark, which the animals come on to in pears.
3. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.
4. The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with the unsympathetic Genitals.
5. Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like Delilah.
6. Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.
7. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten amendments.
8. The seventh amendment is “Thou shalt not admit adultery.”
9. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.
10. The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him. 11. David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Finklesteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times.
12. Solomon, one of David’s sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
13. When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta.
14. When the three wise guys from the East side arrived, they found Jesus in the manager.
15. Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
16. Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you. He also explained, “a man doth not live by sweat alone.”
17. It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.
18. The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.
19. The epistles were the wives of the apostles.
20. One of the opossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.
21. St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage.
22. Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.
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Help beautify our dumps. Throw away something pretty.
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After reviewing my current progress I regret that I did not make these New Year resolutions:
Gain weight. At least 10 pounds.
Stop exercising. Waste of time.
Read less. Makes you think.
Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
Get in a whole NEW rut!
Create loose ends.
Spread out priorities beyond ability to keep track of them.
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I can resist anything but temptation.
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News from the British papers:
Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West gas said, “We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It’s possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his house.” (The Daily Telegraph)
Irish police are being handicapped in a search for a stolen van, because they cannot issue a description. It’s a Special Branch vehicle and they don’t want the public to know what it looks like. (The Guardian)
A young girl who was blown out to sea on a set of inflatable teeth was rescued by a man on an inflatable lobster. A coastguard spokesman commented, “This sort of thing is all too common”. (The Times)
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“Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously. If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself.”
Robert F. Bennett
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Stay well, do good work, and have fun.
Ray Mitchell
Indianapolis, Indiana
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