It didn’t really take much effort to clear the stack of old bills stubs, receipts and invoices that were sitting in the cabinet. And yet how did they get stacked up and taking all the spaces in the cabinet which could be put to better usage? Procrastination. As the saying goes, ‘out of sight, out of mind.‘ It is about time to take the first step. The Guy’s Perspective post provided that kick in the butt.

Today, I decided that it is time to let go of all that stack of old bill stubs, receipts and invoices. Their rightful place are in the recycle bin. They are of no use to me or anyone as long as they remained the way they are. However, going through the recycle bins, they have a chance to be recycled into something useful again.

Do you have stack of old bill stubs, receipts and invoices sitting in the cabinet waiting to be cleared? Perhaps it is time for you to clear the messes; spring is really a good time to start.

Besides the old stack of bill stubs, receipts and invoices, are there also emotional baggage which some of us are carrying through life like? Some of these emotional baggage may not really do much harm to us but they do take up spaces and give us the messy feeling; like there is always something holding us back. Wouldn’t it make sense for us to clear them too?

I have cleared the mess outside today and there are more to be cleared in the other cabinets. After that, it will be time to revisit the messes inside to start cleaning them too. It is time to ditch the emotional baggage,.

Procrastination is probably one of the longest words in my dictionary. I used to have problem spelling it; I used to spell it as ‘Procastination’ without the ‘r.’ Not to worry, I am not going to talk about spelling today. I am going to talk about dealing with procrastination.

It is my ‘running day’ today and I should have gone for my run this morning. However, when I woke up this morning, the sky was gloomy with signs of an impending rain. In fact, it was raining in the wee hours around 5.30 am.

So naturally I have load of excuses not to go for the run this morning; the road is still wet, the running shoes will be drenched, I can go for a run in the afternoon or I can go for a run tomorrow morning instead etc. And you guess right, I did not go for the run this morning.

Just about an hour ago, I was reading Death defying stunt in London by CK about his plan to run from work to home today. And after reading it, I shut down my laptop and went for a run at around 1 pm in the afternoon. Don’t worry, no heat stroke; the sky was very cloudy just now.

I just dislike being a loser to procrastination, especially when I know I can beat it. So thank you to CK, somehow your post has given me the much needed ‘push’ … for action.

I believe that most of us had moments when procrastination got the better of us and we did not manage to do what we had set to do for that day. I know, it is a lousy feeling – a feeling of not in control.

There were mornings like today when procrastination had gotten the better of me but there were also many mornings when I dealt with procrastination face-on. The outcome? I won and with lots of sweats.

So what are the secrets for dealing with procrastination? Pardon me, there are no secret formula to apply or potion to drink. The best way of dealing with procrastination for me and with almost 100% hit rate is to take immediate action.

The biggest challenge is getting out of the house. How did I do it?

First of all, I focus on the positive aspects that running always bring me. I have always felt good after every run and have felt more ready to take on other challenges. Not to mention I maintain a healthy lifestyle. Through focusing on the positive aspects that running always bring me, I build up my mind positively step by step. If needed, you can write it down on a piece of paper all the advantages of doing something that you want to do but keep putting it off.

Secondly, I just put on my tee-shirt, running shoes, grab the keys, open the door and out of the house I go. It couldn’t have been more simple. This has always worked for me. Thus the more you procrastinate, the more you need to get into the act of doing. Once you are in the act of doing it, the process should carry you along until you are done.

How about you? What is your effective ways for dealing with Procrastination?

And the picture above? That was the bonus for the run today. I managed to see these beautiful blooming flowers. At some parts, the flowers group together like a beehive. Of course, I couldn’t resist myself from taking a shot with my Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot camera phone.

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over”

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. “I will come next Tuesday”, I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

“Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog,and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!”

My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this all the time, Mother.”

“Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her.

“But first we’re going to see the daffodils. It’s just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive. I’m used to this.”

“Carolyn,” I said sternly, “Please turn around.”

“It’s all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, “Daffodil Garden.” We got out of the car, each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

“Who did this?” I asked Carolyn. “Just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She lives on the property. That’s her home.” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking”, was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time–often just one baby-step at time–and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world .

“It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!”

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. “Start tomorrow,” she said.

She was right. It’s so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, “How can I put this to use today?”

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting…..

Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die…

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don’t need money. Love like you’ve never been hurt, and, Dance like no one’s watching.