Chapter One
charged for those missed appointments. Lazy people usually have their needs firmly planted in their mind’s eye and rarely, if ever, completely let things go. Lastly, generally speaking, procrastinators can be a glum lot because they constantly carry the burden of all the things they should have taken care of, and they don’t trust themselves to “do” any better in the future. In contrast, lazy people have more of a laid-back “I’ll get to it,” lifestyle. People who are just lazy aren’t terribly concerned with their chosen lifestyle because they know that in time they will eventually get to whatever it is, just as they’ve done many times before.
A Growing Problem
Before my problems with procrastination became habitual in nature, there were times when I delayed taking action and whatever opportunity may have been lost, the most significant and costly loss was the effect upon my self-esteem. Even if the task were relatively simple, such as mailing back a pre-paid postcard within a time limit, I would misplace the card, forget about it, and then find the postcard after the offer it promoted had expired. Afterwards, I would think, “No one else on earth could have goofed-up like I just did!”There were many such times when brilliant opportunities were lost—forever. One might think that after enough such occasions, I might have learned my lesson. Unfortunately for me, quite the opposite happened: my problem grew.
You may have some personal experiences involving the squandering of precious opportunities, and you may be wondering if your own procrastination has been more than just a passing fancy, and more like a bad habit. The short answer to this question is: If you believe that you have a problem with procrastination, then you probably do. However, should you want more of a quantitative measurement, then look for the combination of:
- How frequently procrastination occurs.
- How many areas that procrastination crops up in your life.
- How strong your opposition to “do”-ing is.
It’s this across-the-board aspect that really determines how much impact procrastination can have, and the extent to which it plays a part in a person’s life.
