I appreciate this story from Allan – though it is beyond a story…it is real life. Many of us can echo Allan’s experience and it becomes even more personal when we get to thinking about our parents and would could have been…if only.
There is much I could say but I know many people who can say it as well as if not better than me. Many greats, though unsung, have passed – such as Sydney Banks and Dr Roger Mills. Though they achieved much, there is a great deal more to do to spread their teachings. That they have passed but that they achieved means that they left a legacy – a legacy we can continue. I’ll let Sydney Banks have the last word here: “My words may seem too simple, but I say again, the truth is simple.” ~ Sydney Banks. Do it. Let’s rid ourselves of our limiting beliefs and what we may think of as procrastination. The quality of our actions cannot exceed the quality of our thinking. I wish Allan & his Dad well.
There’s Never A Right Time
I think it was George Herbert who said “Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”
Of course, for most of my life I didn’t believe him. I was the master procrastinator, always putting off things I could have found time to do and even making “easier” things a priority over the hard stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I was always busy, I never had a spare moment; my time was fully filled, all day every day.
My dad has always been an excellent gardener, but not a great teacher and I never had any inkling to learn how to “do stuff” from him, in the garden at any rate. As my parents have aged, we hatched a plan to help dad spread his knowledge and maybe even earn a little income, focussing on his “niche” as a gardening expert by creating some e-products that would help beginners learn the skills they needed to do simple gardening tasks. I’ve aready said he isn’t a great teacher so I hatched a plan to help him, by formulating a series of prducts and asking a simple “menu” of how-to questions that would eventually give me the info I required to create a product that we could sell or give away for free for him. he has absolutely no technical skills at all, so this was carefully planned out so as to be achievable.
Then, one day before we could get started on our project, dad had a stroke. Quite a major one. He was many weeks in hospital and came out a totaly different man, considerably more disabled than before and now, although able to think clearly, he is unable to tell us in the correct words the kinds of things he wants to, nor is he able to go into the workshop and show us because he has much less use of his entire right side than he did before the stroke.
So our little project has had to be put on hold while we find another way to do it. He continues to make progress. The way he is now, compared to how he was 2 months after the stroke is almost like 2 different people, he has made vast improvements so we continue to try to come up with ways to complete the project he wants and he continues to improve his speech and mobilkity, albeit very slowly.
Of course, If I’d got off my behind and actually done something before dad was taken ill, he might have had a little bit of income already which would have helped fund the little luxuries in life, and the more important things that you never realise you need to do, such as change the car for one with a wheelchair ramp and nice, wide-opening doors.
So, that’s my story of how procrastination bit me hard in the backside. Please don’t let it happen to you because you really do not know what tomorrow will bring. Hit me up in the comments and share which projects you are going to make a start on.
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June 17, 2011
June 17, 2011
Wow, what a story Allan. Yes unfortunately most of us are like that we procrastinate a lot on things like you said we know we can do them right away or find the time to do them and yet we leave for “some other day”, “some other time” we should learn by our own experiences and even others like your self and stop the procrastination. And how do we do that? well by acting right in the moment, right there and then when it comes to your attention. Really hope your Dad keeps recuperating fast and completely wish him the best.
Pammy Mannings
July 11, 2011
Thanks for the interesting information. Subscribe to rss
