Spending too much time looking for the big opportunity or the perfect timing to do something is one of the biggest mistakes people make. But “patience is a virtue”, right? Yes, but isn’t it true that “he who hesitates is lost”? So, be careful about letting patience turn into procrastination.
Patience and procrastination are cousins that look a whole lot alike and when people get them confused valuable time and opportunities are lost.
Patience is embracing the well-calculated risk. Procrastination is hiding under the covers to avoid risk.
Patience is learning what to do. Procrastination is learning what to do and not using what you learned.
Patience is saying, “I’ll finish this by_____.” Procrastination is saying, “I’ll get to it sooner or later.”
There are dozens of tips and techniques for overcoming procrastination and seizing opportunities. Here are three:
1. Take full advantage of momentum.
The best time to build momentum is when you first think of an idea or start on a task. This is the time to create some small steps that you can take right away and use to measure your progress.
2. Create sense of last minute urgency.
Have you ever noticed that normally people finish a task just in the nick of time? This is because a task will expand to the allotted time. Think about that.
A person can have two months to do something and finish it in two days. Of course it’s the last two days before it’s due! Last minute urgency creates an incredible amount of energy and drive.
3. Worry Less.
Earl Nightingale wrote about what he called the “Fog of Worry” and provided an authoritative estimate of what most people worry about:
*40% of the things you worry about will never happen.
*30% of the things you worry about couldn’t be changed by all the worrying in the world.
*12% of your worries are needless worries about your health.
*10% of your worries are about petty, miscellaneous things.
*8% of your worries are about real and legitimate concerns.
Wow. That means that 92% of your worrying is a complete waste of time.
In closing, here’s one last thing to keep in mind:
Opportunities don’t just disappear. They are passed on to someone who doesn’t procrastinate. There is a good chance that opportunities that come your way are opportunities that someone else procrastinated on. So, if you procrastinate on a great opportunity somebody will definitely capitalize on it.
Want to find out more about booking Al Duncan as an exceptional youth speaker? Then visit Al’s site to bring him in as one of the most fun and inspiring High School Speakers in the world.
Related posts:
- How To Avoid Procrastination Problems
- Time Management Skills that Really Work
- Using Personal Organizer Software Effectively
- Good Time Planning To Reduce Everyday Stress
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