This ONE thing will End Your Procrastination Instantly
For the past couple of weeks, I have been going through some struggling times mentally and emotionally. I had a history of depression, so from time to time I get these depressive episodes if I’m not careful of the triggers and allow my life to go off track.
I was feeling really down, and lazy, with all sorts of negative thoughts and assumptions going through my head, and just feeling extremely unproductive.
I was oversleeping for 12 hours straight, waking up feeling unfresh and having stiffness all over my body. Just feel like a sluggish sloth.
Of course, I wasn’t able to get anything done in this state. I had set up my goals and targets for the month, that I needed to get done in order to reach my super-important quarterly goals.
But this haze of depression and unproductivity wasted several weeks and added to my stress and anxiety regarding the upcoming months where I could end up in very stressful and problematic circumstances if I didn’t get myself together and do everything to the T.
I was anything but doing everything to the T.
Interestingly, as I was wasting my time away during the past several days by distracting myself through YouTube videos, I started getting video recommendations of people sharing their experiences with cancer diagnosis.
As I dove into this rabbit hole and started exploring those people’s channels, I realized a lot of them had already passed on. One was a great mother of 2 and a happy loving wife in her 30s.
I lost my father to cancer 10 years ago in 2014 and that left my life in shambles from all aspects. I know the pain of that husband when he was telling about the passing of his wife, his best friend, and the mother of his children, as we were trying very hard to keep it together.
I cried with him because I knew the kind of deep pain and heaviness he felt at that moment.
Another one was this gentleman physiotherapist who really took care of his health, and seemed in great shape at the time of his diagnosis.
I actually saw his diagnosis video several months ago so I recognized him immediately as soon as I saw him in this recent update video, but here he was very weak and frail. Not the fit and strong guy that I saw previously.
Many months ago, in his diagnosis video, he seemed anxious about what the future holds and how much time he had left. He seemed hopeful yet scared. Doctors told him he might have 4-6 months left.
However, in his most recent video, he seemed at peace with the reality of life. He acknowledged that this was the end of his life as he gradually declined and moved closer to his final day.
He seemed content with the positive impact and the legacy he has left in his life, and at peace with the fact that everyone has to go, it’s inevitable. Some will go earlier than others, but this is the ultimate cycle of life.
He had a smile on his face and a very positive attitude even through the pain and struggles he was going through, and he was talking about all the plans for the upcoming courses and books that he was so excited to work on before getting diagnosed.
As I scrolled through this video, I saw in the comments that he had just passed a week ago. As I read this I couldn’t keep myself together.
Tears streamed down my face as I realized how fragile and temporary life is. I realized life is too short to be wasting time and putting things off for some other day. I asked myself if I was content with what I had done with my life up until this point, and the answer was NO.
There are so many unrealized ideas and untapped potentials in every single one of us. What kind of regret will we feel if we realize at the time of our passing all the good things we could’ve done but didn’t do because we kept putting them off for some ideal and perfect day?
This realization hit me like a bus and evaporated the depressive and unproductive phase in an instant. I was trying to fall asleep in my bed after an unproductive day, and this realization made me jump out of bed at 3:00 am and start writing this article!
De@th is something we try to avoid thinking about, but it’s actually a really good motivator. I push you right back into reality wherever you drift away into negative thoughts, resentments, assumptions, ego, laziness, procrastination, and whatnot.
It’s a great De-hypnotizer! It breaks you from the illusions that our mind creates that often trap us in certain states and even make us feel stuck.
When you realize how short of a time you have, immediately your priorities align themselves in your head, and you realize what really matters and what’s not worth wasting time and energy.
You realize that this is the only shot you’ll ever get and with every passing minute, you are aging and moving toward your last day.
Even if a lot of us get to see our twilight years, there’s a good chance we might not be able to do a lot of the things that we can do right now.
It’s the realization that every minute, every moment that passes by, is a moment that we’ll never get again. This instantly makes every moment worth cherishing and living mindfully.
A man asked Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): ‘O Messenger of Allah, who among the people is best?’
The Prophet said: ‘He who has the best manners among them.’
The man said: ‘Which of them is wisest?’
The Prophet replied: ‘The one who remembers de@th the most and is best in preparing for it. Those are the wisest.’”
- Sunan Ibn Majah 4259
You don’t know how much time or health you have left. What are the things that you’ve been putting off? What moments or people have you not cherished yet fully? Which important things in life have you been neglecting?
I know these are very uncomfortable questions and for some, it can trigger a flight response where they just want to scroll away and avoid reflecting on them or put this reflection off for some other day – you see what’s wrong here 😉
Since you have already realized the issue and chose to read this article, it’s better to make the most out of this state of awareness and proactiveness and spend the next few minutes in reflection.
Here are a few prompts to get you started. Grab your journal and write your thoughts on the following:
- If you get to know that you only have a year left of your life, how exactly are you going to spend this next year? Plan and structure this year. What are the things that you’ll prioritize and work toward?
- If you get to know you have a week left to live, what amends will you be making? Who are you going to reconcile with? Who are you going to forgive and free yourself from the burden of resentment? To whom are you going to express your love and appreciation?
- If you get to know that today is your last day, how are you going to spend it?
Will you afford to waste a few hours or minutes like we all usually do, or will you plan every hour purposefully?
And how? How will your behavior and demeanor be with people around you? Will you be grumpy or kind, forgiving, and grateful?
Will you still worry about the petty issues of life that have consumed your mind and your life for so many years?
If you struggle with consistency and find it hard to stick to creating something meaningful in your life, I want to leave you with this practical guide: 10 Laws of Consistency – How to Stay Consistent in Life
Hope this reflection changes your life as I did mine on several different occasions.
Let me know about your experience in the comments section below.
Take care… talk to you soon!