Three Unique Qualities of Human Life
We, human beings possess three unique qualities. They are very simple, yet very powerful. We all know we have these qualities; however most of us do not utilize them fully to realize the true power of these qualities.
We very well know and understand what is best for us, and we are also convinced that if we actually start doing that, we can achieve greater things in life. However, we often take a casual approach and either delay executing that best idea or just let it pass by. And these are the exact three qualities we possess.
- We are able to understand (what is best for us).
- We are able to do it.
- We are able to procrastinate.
These three super simple qualities affect our life in a great deal. Whether we lead a life of success or misery is determined by these three qualities. All big inventions happened because someone for the first time thought about it; he or she believed in it and then invested all available resources to materialize it. Everything starts with a thought or an idea and then either that idea gets nourished by persistent actions or gets weaken by poisonous procrastination. Whatsoever but actually we have only these three tools to treat our all ideas with.
I have decided to write one blog post per week, and today my writing was scheduled and since morning my mind was playing tricks with me offering all nice reasons, options and excuses about why I should not write today. Yes this happens with everyone, we all procrastinate. No matter how committed a person is for his or her goal. Procrastination is an integral part of our very being. Let’s accept it without trying to criticize or judge. Acceptance sets our mind free from conflict. And relaxed mind muscles then can think freely and creatively.
Let me share with you how do I deal with procrastination. Whenever a thought of procrastination comes into my mind, I put everything aside and give my full attention to my thoughts. I close my eyes and taking a role of witness, I simply observe my thoughts and emotions for a while. I then take one deep breathe in and fill my lungs full of oxygen. While holding my breath I connect with the thought of procrastination with my full awareness. After that slowly I breathe out releasing the thought also along with the air out of my system. I again take a deep breathe in and now when I hold my breath I replace the negative thought with a positive thought of perseverance and persistence. I do repeat it until I feel complete and full – That’s it, I find my center again. Giving full attention to thoughts or emotions before getting carried away always brings awareness back. With full awareness you cannot choose wrong actions. It helps you to see tree from the woods. This always works for me. Try and see if it works for you too or simply share how you are dealing with the procrastination here in comment section.
Use your Free Will:
We all have a free will – the freedom to choose. Your free will is the gift which can only be applied and practiced in the present moment. Your present moment is not a destiny but a free will – a completely controllable factor. Focus on it. Use it to bring yourself back to the center. Yes, NOW is the only moment that gives you freedom to choose and freedom to do.
For example, suppose you have started learning guitar and have been practicing it for 30 minutes every day. Everything goes great in initial days. But today your mind simply feels lazy and says “Ah! Not today!” At that time, you have two choices. First, is to get carried away with that procrastinating thought and emotions and simply skip the practice for the day. Second, just take a guitar and show up on your scheduled time for practice. If you want to persist in your practice just for today, no one can stop you in the present moment, except yourself. You simply need to take the responsibility of your actions for this moment only. We truly own this moment and can utilize it as per our own free will.
Want more?
Let’s Look at procrastination from a different angle.
Nature loves fun, and that’s why we have all funny qualities in our nature too! There exists nothing without a reason, and procrastination too is no exception. These negative and opposite qualities are actually complementing each other, if you see. Procrastination makes us understand the value of results that comes from persistent actions. Procrastination is actually there to sharpen our other two qualities of understanding and doing the right things with persistence. This motivates us to beat the procrastination and keep going. And each time we win over procrastination it increases our confidence a bit and helps us build a mindset of a winner. These small victories make us victor in the final run! When we win over our procrastination, it induces new energy into our Action-Approach.
Do not be afraid of negativity; just embrace it to deal with it effectively.
And here I complete writing my article for the week winning over my procrastinating thoughts :)
Have fun!
Bharat
