PROCRASTINATION LEADS TO POVERTY

The scourge of poverty, akin to the manifestations of a virus or incurable disease has plagued many individuals the world over. It has many symptoms but one of the major signs that an individual is infected is when he/she procrastinates. To procrastinate is to delay, to postpone what should be done now for later.

Procrastination is a mental block that deceives you into believing that there is still time to do what should have been done long ago. It manifests itself with statements such as, “I will do it tomorrow,” “There is still time,” and “it’s not too late.” The problem with this mindset is that every day time is going by which once spent cannot be retrieved. Each and every day you are supposed to be making steps toward the achievement of your financial goals; we’re now in May and you might be wondering what happened to the first four months of this year? The truth is you are seriously procrastinating.

Mankind, by nature is an organism that is goal-oriented, always desiring to get things done. Using the currency of time he expects to achieve certain goals, reach certain milestones, acquire certain status or possessions at a particular time. It is common to find that in the area of personal finance and wealth creation people expect to have made it at a certain age or time frame.

Alas when that stipulated time lapses the people are no better than when they started. Many times they never even moved at all and the blame game begins. Scapegoats are hurriedly mobilized and accused, and a thousand and one excuses are made to cover up for their bad fortune. Sometimes the difference between financial success and failure is the inability of the latter individual to take action.

You are a procrastinator and likely to embrace poverty for the rest of your life if any of the following statements is your constant reality: Setting financial goals but never taking any steps to work towards them: hoping and wishing that good  fortune would come your way, blaming others for your failures never yourself; not knowing what you want out of life; wanting to hit it big literally overnight; Unwillingness  to learn new skills and develop yourself;  afraid to ask for help when it is needed; seriously doubting that you can be prosperous and successful and fearing to start because you lack capital. A procrastinator usually laments at the end of the year that he never achieved anything. He didn’t because he failed to make any moves!

The only way to beat procrastination is to start taking steps. These steps may be small or great ones but by all means start something! Take steps to develop yourself, ask for help, research that opportunity, start a business, open that account, learn something new, seek for opportunity, brainstorm how to face the competition and so on. In no time you will begin to make major progress.

You need to start from where you are with what you have. Don’t let anything you lack hinder you from moving forward. Determine to yourself that every day henceforth you will take one step towards achieving your financial goal and I can assure you that in no time you will! Remember that nothing ventured nothing gained. Taking action is key.

How many times have you delayed or put off taking action on a financial opportunity only to find it was over or taken when you finally got round to it? This is procrastination at work; no one is immune from it. You must deal with it by resolving to take steps forward notwithstanding.

Napoleon Hill once said that the place where the world’s greatest treasure is hidden is the graveyard. There you will find plenty of procrastinators – people who had ideas, dreams, plans and opportunities but never acted on them. They had all this wealth inside them which never saw the light of day. I am sure that you don’t want to be found in that company.

You will defeat poverty when you stop procrastinating.