“Maybe one day, when I have more time, I will dedicate myself to… ”
You’ve probably said this phrase to yourself at some point in your life. In fact, almost all of us have put off some of our dreams, secretly hoping that conditions will be more favorable or simply because we decided to prioritize other tasks.
However, Buddha was very succinct (and even dramatic) about it: “The problem is that you think you still have time.”
Our lives are too full of “maybe… ”, “If… ”, “when… ”. We are convinced that tomorrow we will achieve our dreams, but today we will dedicate ourselves to something else, as if living in the “here and now” were just a parenthesis. However, how are we going to achieve our dreams if we don’t get down to work right now? This is a fallacy, the worst deception we can make ourselves, since adopting this attitude is letting life slip away from us.
The truth is much simpler: we have no time other than the present.
The story of young Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the most prolific American writers of all time. We may like his style more or less, but we cannot deny that he is a successful writer, who has written more than 70 books, sold some 350 million copies and whose stories have been adapted to the big screen. However, very few people know the story behind his success.
By the time he was 24, young Stephen King was already married and had children. He worked as a teacher, could barely pay the bills, and his literary career was at a standstill. He had only managed to get a few short stories published in magazines. He had tried three times to get his first novel published and was rejected three times.
In his autobiographical book “While I Write” which, by the way, I recommend, he says:
“I saw myself thirty years older, wearing the same worn-out coats with elbow patches and a beer-drinker’s belly hanging over my trousers. I’d have a smoker’s cough from too much Pall Malls, thicker glasses, more dandruff, and in my desk drawer there were six or seven unfinished manuscripts which I would occasionally, mostly drunk, dust off and touch up. When asked what I did with my spare time, I’d say I was writing a book. What’s a self-respecting creative writing teacher going to do with his time? Then, of course, I’d lie to myself, telling myself it wasn’t too late, that some novelists didn’t start until they were fifty. Fifty! Sixty, for fuck’s sake! I’m sure a lot of them.”
Stephen King understood right then and there that he had no more time, that he needed a radical change in his life if he wanted to achieve his dreams and not remain stuck in a job that didn’t satisfy him. So, he got to work and wrote “Carrie.” The rest is history.
Since then, Stephen King has worked non-stop for four hours a day with the goal of writing 2,500 words.
However, how many manuscripts (metaphorically speaking) do you have in your desk drawer?
Do you believe that one day, as if by magic, your dreams will come true?
If you keep putting things off, the day will come when you will no longer have dreams in the drawer but regrets in front of the mirror.
5 keys to stop procrastinating life
We often live with a feeling of emptiness and/or strangeness, we wake up with many dreams but we postpone them and, instead, we repeat over and over again the habits we have acquired throughout life, as if we were automatons. It is as if the wheel of the system turns inexorably to crush us under its weight. That wheel is social conventions, fears, uncertainties… Therefore, it is not strange that most people end up in a comfort zone where their dreams have no place, a comfort zone that may be comfortable in the here and now but that in the long run leads to the greatest regrets in life.
How to change and stop postponing your dreams?
1. Create a sense of urgency. Until you are fully convinced that you have no more time, you will keep putting off your dreams indefinitely. You must be aware that time flies and that your life is this one, the one that is happening right now, as you read, not the one in some hypothetical future. Seneca gives us a clue: “ Consider each day as if it were a life in itself .”
2. Imagine your worst future. You probably already know the basics of positive visualization: imagine that you have achieved your goal. However, you can also visualize your worst future. This is not masochism, but simply becoming aware of where your steps are leading you. If you were to continue living the life you have right now, how do you see yourself in 10 or 20 years? Imagine your life in as much detail as possible and don’t forget to apply Murphy’s law to every dilemma: ” Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong .” If you don’t like what you see, it’s time to change.
3. Get out of your comfort zone. We tend to prefer a comfortable hell to a paradise that requires a lot of effort. Once we find our comfort zone, we stagnate and put our dreams away in a drawer. It’s not about jumping into the void without a parachute, but you can take small steps that will expand that comfort zone more and more and bring you closer to your goals. There will always be a bit of fear and uncertainty, but little by little you will learn to deal with them and the day may even come when they don’t bother you.
4. Eliminate the junk. We live in a society that constantly demands our attention through things that are nothing more than simple distractions. These things are like small grains of sand that, little by little, can jam or rust the gears of your life. Therefore, an important step to achieve your dreams is to learn to focus on what is essential, change the habits that do not contribute anything to you and eliminate emotional garbage. Not only will you gain time but you will feel less stressed and you will be able to focus on what really matters.
5. Get started. Every great journey begins with the first step. Don’t resort to excuses to postpone your dreams because these have always existed and will continue to exist, there will always be problems and the time will never be right. Start today to change a bad habit, throw away an unnecessary distraction and set a goal that truly motivates you and enriches your life.
Time flies! Don’t waste it because it is your most precious possession.
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