A word that means delaying or postponing something that needs to be done on time. However, it is said to be a trap that can damage your performance, harm your reputation, and cause one’s self unnecessary anxiety. However, some people celebrate it.

In 1956, as a joke, Less Wass established the Procrastinator’s Club of America, in Philadelphia, PA. He registered it in 1966. He described its purpose as promoting “the philosophy of relaxation through putting off until later those things that needn’t be done today”.

Everyone puts things off sometimes, but procrastinators chronically avoid difficult tasks and may deliberately look for distractions. This is easily done when you are online and are searching for information and you come across something that you are more interested in than what you are supposed to be looking for.

Psychologists have found various reasons why people procrastinate, and there is no single reason. The key that unites most of these reasons is emotion and mood regulation. Studies show that some of the drivers of procrastination include low self-confidence, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Leonardo Da Vinci took 16 years to finish the Mona Lisa, one of his most famous paintings. Les Wass was the creator of the Iconic Mister Softee Jingle that drew children to the Mister Softee ice cream truck, among other well-known tunes. Go figure. He died at the age of 94.

It is often confused with laziness, but they are very different. It is an active process you choose to do something else instead of the task that you know you should be doing. In contrast, laziness suggests apathy, inactivity, and an unwillingness to act (Mind Tools).

As hypothesized and consistent with previous studies, procrastinating was highest in the youngest cohort (14-29 years). Men procrastinate the most. Current research shows that procrastination might have something to do with our desire to reduce our mental effort.

The Scripture “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Gal 6:9). If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, is sin for them (James 4:17). This later one especially relates to a task that God asks us to do.

Advisors and mentors, both alike, will tell you that you should give some thoughts about what you are about to do, make good choices, do the right thing, or some other positive encouragement. I like to add, what you can live with without regrets.  

Life is full of choices. Some are as easy as sleeping on the left side of the bed or the right side. Others are much more serious such as purchasing a house at your first assignment, knowing that you are going to be constantly reassigned. “For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 2:10).

In the poem, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost, he gives some excellent antidotes about decision making. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

He could have taken the other path that seemed more travelled but he did not. His biographer states that he was a loaner by default. He felt comfortable within himself to be non-popular by choosing the path that seemed less crowded.

Making decisions is an important part of life, and there are many factors to consider when making a decision. By following these three steps— defining the problem, gathering information, and considering the consequences—you will be better equipped to make informed decisions that align with your values and goals. https://medium.com (Feb 14,2023).

So as in life, you will find that those who feel that they have support or backers are more willing to take chances, whereas those who do not are more guarded in their decision making. There are no guarantees that the choice you made are going to bring you total happiness.

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before your life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

There is not a single person, including myself, who has not had to deal with disappointment at one time or another. Some more than once or twice. However, unpleasant as disappointments may be, we can always learn something from them.

Many people successfully work through their disappointments. They somehow, have the willpower to pause, regroup, take stock of what has happened to them, learn from the incident, and move on. They come out of such disappointments stronger.

Some people seek to avoid disappointment by turning into underachievers. They set the bar low and avoid taking risks, to prevent themselves or others from being disappointed. Their strategy is not to have high expectations about anything. This could lead to a mediocre and unfulfilled life.

Others, follow a very different path, seek to avoid disappointment by becoming overachievers. Although they tell themselves that their expectations of perfection are appropriate and realistic, the bar can be set too high to ever make whatever they want to achieve attainable.

Also, there are people with a more balanced developmental history. Their parents didn’t try to be perfect, and didn’t expect their children to be perfect. By being “good enough” parents, they created a secure base for their children.

These children feel secure in their relationships, supported rather than controlled, and are able to play, explore, and learn, thereby acquiring the inner strength to cope constructively with the inevitable setbacks that will come their way in their journey through life.

Disappointment is not meant to destroy us. If taken in stride, it can strengthen us and make us better. In spite of its devastating emotional impact, we may even consider encounters with disappointment as journeys toward greater insight and wisdom. This is what the New Testament Scripture says about it.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance (James 1:1-3). Trusting God through our trials pushes us toward the Christ-like maturity of trusting God more, and more deeply, and with greater endurance (James 1:12).

Overthinking involves thinking about a certain topic or situation excessively, analyzing it for long periods of time. When you overthink, you have a hard time getting your mind to focus on anything else. What you are thinking about gets in a loop. Research suggests that overthinking is associated with feelings of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

You are sometimes left thinking that you can conquer anything. This used to make me a poor test taker. Instead of looking at just the questions as they were asked and answer them, I thought about that which was not there. Most times it was because of the fear of making a mistake.

In fact, the longer you think about something, the less time and energy you have to take productive action. Plus, thinking about all the things you could have done differently, second-guessing your decisions, and continuously imagining worst-case scenarios can be exhausting. So, you just give up.

You might try to convince yourself that thinking longer and harder helps you. After all, you’re looking at a problem from every possible angle. But overanalyzing and obsessing actually becomes a barrier. Much research has shown that thinking too much makes it tough to make decisions. Very little is accomplished.  

One way to avoid overthinking a subject is to incorporate Scripture and prayer into one’s thoughts. The psalmists give us excellent examples of this.  “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, your consolations delight my soul” (Psalms 94:19).

Many of the psalms were written by overthinkers who were facing danger, emotional unrest, fear, or despair. They boldly wrote out their anxious thoughts and then turned them into the worship of God.   

Satan capitalizes on our inclination to overthink by creating doubts and fears about spiritual things. Some Christians who overthink have difficulty resting in their salvation because they over-analyze their grace-based relationship with God rather than resting in “the simplicity that is in Christ”. We may think that we have gotten so far away from God that He cannot use us.

You hear it all of the time, “Patience is a virtue”, but what does it mean? A proverbial phrase that reminds the listener or reader about the societal and moral value of waiting to get what they want until a more convenient time. Some see it as a choice, only to be carefully taken.

The role of patience in our life isn’t exclusively individual. Being patient also helps you develop strong, healthy, long-lasting relationships. Your relationships with friends, family, and coworkers thrive when you practice patience. We may not be born into a perfect family, but we are stuck with them.

Patient people may also experience fewer negative emotions. That’s because with patience, you’re better equipped to deal with stressful and challenging moments in life. This helps your overall mental health and well-being.

Patient people may have an easier time being empathetic, kind, cooperative, and selfless. Being compassionate when others make mistakes helps create relationships where flaws are accepted. If you can’t change something, change how you feel about it.

However, it’s important to understand that patience isn’t transactional. When you are patient with a person, don’t expect them to do the same. Patience is about sustaining and bettering relationships — sometimes holding onto your own sanity.

Patience in the Bible is the ability to endure difficult people and situations without giving into anger or giving up hope. Because God continues to show us patience when we are doing disappointing things, we can show others patience when they disappoint us. 

“You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord’s coming is near.” “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

“Also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts.