Keeping up with the do-it-now work ethic
Igrew up in a family where action promptly followed decision. My dad did not put off till tomorrow what he could do today, and that was a way of life for us siblings. In fact, we lived this adage and grew up believing that it was the normal way of life for everyone.
It was much later that I realised that things are very different and began to evaluate this habit or way of life. I got to understand the pros and cons. One major hurdle in this philosophy of life was that there was no turning back since action immediately followed decision. This is how it worked. Something needed to be done to resolve certain issues or to make a programme for a big and important event, even planning a vacation (which was twice every year), there was a discussion in which every member of our large family irrespective of the age, took place; then a decision was arrived at. The chapter was closed. The wheels were set in motion and there was no turning back. Mistakes, if any, were lessons for the next time.
Procrastination was a word I had to look up in the dictionary many years later when my growing years and expanding awareness enlightened me about this phenomenon. I call myself an immediate person and am well versed with the pros. Since by nature I am quick to decide, I save time, and when something needs to be done I do it right away and save a tremendous amount of time not putting it off for another day. Then I feel free and ready to do other things which need my attention and leave me with enough time to enjoy doing things that are fun and a pleasure. Understandably, a line by English poet Edward Young stays with me, “Procrastination is the thief of time.”
I wonder what keeps people my age and with a similar type of lifestyle busy. I can happily say the problem, if any, may be with me. I refuse to dilly-dally, the more I put off doing things that much more I will be burdening my mind, time and energy because till I do not complete the task that needs my attention, it is going to be ‘with me’ nagging me to a point of frustration.
My do-it-now habit also makes me enjoy life more because I live in the present. Of course, like all normal human beings I do have regrets, I do wish I had done some things differently and then I just shrug off the feeling reminding myself that the experience has made me wiser.
Life is changing and the modern world is throwing different types of challenges. The hours in a day seem to have shrunk, for some at least. Each age and every stage comes with its own set of issues that need tackling. As the saying goes, “Do what you have to so that you can do what you want to.” That’s the philosophy of my life, too.
THE CHAPTER WAS CLOSED. WHEELS WERE SET IN MOTION, THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK. MISTAKES, IF ANY, WERE LESSONS