Be proactive to avoid the pitfalls of procrastination!

Recently we went outside early in the morning to feed the birds. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and the air felt fresh. It was totally peaceful and quiet except for the little birds chirping overhead in the tree, waiting for their breakfast.

Then the screeching sound of sirens broke the calm as an ambulance and fire truck raced by on a nearby street. We stopped a moment, as we do when we see this happening, to pray for all involved in the emergency.

Sometimes life can seem so normal and calm and the next minute everything changes. We’ve been thinking about the people involved in the Surfside condo collapse that happened in Florida. Maybe one minute they were lying in bed, enjoying listening to the ocean waves gently lapping against the beach. The next minute maybe they heard tremendous noise and felt the shaking as the condo building came crashing down. One family fell from the 9^th floor to the 5^th floor. Amazingly, the mother, with a broken pelvis, crawled and dragged her daughter out of the rubble.

We decided to look at how being proactive in any situation can be helpful and how procrastination can have some dire results. Three years before the collapse of Surfside, inspectors had noted that the pool deck area and parking garage had “major structural damage.” Given that information, what pitfalls could have been avoided if the decision-makers had been proactive and taken corrective action at that time. There’s a popular saying, “Better safe than sorry.” Many are probably very sorry now.

We often think of procrastination as keeping us from doing something we don’t want to do but something we know that we should do. It’s easy to procrastinate, even about important things in life. These are things that need attention and shouldn’t be put off because there can be a big difference in results. One area where procrastination can have some important effects is in the area of health. Let’s look at why people procrastinate about health issues.

So if health is important in life, why would we procrastinate on getting a checkup? Our bodies are like our “buildings”. In fact, some scriptures refer to our body as our temple. One reason we procrastinate is because maybe we feel everything is working fairly well. We assume that we’re okay.

Also, maybe there’s a suspicion that something could be going wrong, but it’s easy to get busy and ignore it. You might have felt a certain way for so long that you think feeling that way is ‘normal’. You tell yourself that it’s part of getting older, or you feel you’ve used and abused your body and it’s normal to have aches and pains. You procrastinate by deciding to live with it.

Maybe, like the building inspectors of Surfside, you have some concerns but you don’t think anything catastrophic will happen. The inspectors saw the cracks in the pool decking. All we know is that people procrastinated and didn’t act soon enough to avoid the tragedy of so many lives lost.

Another reason we procrastinate on taking care of our bodies could be that we think we’re doing a good job caring for ourselves. But there may be things we don’t know or don’t even want to know.

Sometimes it boils down to fear of finding out. Maybe I’ll have to give up eating so much fast food, or drink less, or sleep and exercise more. Yuck! Being healthy requires effort and that’s not much fun. The Surfside decision-makers might have had similar thoughts. Maybe they didn’t really want to discover what it would take to make the building “healthy” and strong again. It could have meant making some tough decisions and many difficult changes. There were also concerns about cost and inconvenience.

Yes, there are many reasons to procrastinate and avoid moving forward. It can be hard to face when important changes need to happen. However, consider the consequences. The proactive methods to keep buildings safe are necessary. Also, the proactive methods to keep our bodies safe and healthy need to be a priority. As Steve Shallenberger said, “Remember, action today can prevent a crisis tomorrow.”

What about you? What are you procrastinating about? Are there some little signs that there could be health or other issues that needs attention? We encourage you to be proactive and avoid the pitfalls of procrastination. Then you can be calm and confident that you’re helping your body pass your next “health inspection” with flying colors.

Chanhassen MN residents, Doug and Lynn Nodland are success coaches and owners of The Balance Center in Excelsior. Contact them at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2021 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.