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– By Kathy Gates, Professional Life Coach
How long did it take you to realize the benefits of removing a splinter right away from your finger? As a child, removing that splinter seemed like an awful thing to do, but experience FINALLY taught us that if we leave it alone, it will only get infected, get worse, and be a whole lot harder to deal with.
But have you really learned this lesson yet?
Allowing - even courting - delay in your life is a huge roadblock between you and a great life. When you respond to a problem, situation, request, task, etc. without delay, you minimize the action - and the pain -- involved.
Think again about that splinter. Consider it as a metaphor to any problem or situation that you need to deal with, that needs change. At first the 'splinter' catches your attention, with just an Ouch. But if you ignore it, it will get sore. If you continue to ignore it, it will swell and be quite painful. If you continue to ignore it, or just put a Band-Aid on it instead of getting to the source (the splinter), it may become so infected that it could actually threaten your health. All that from a tiny splinter, or tiny problem that you chose to delay taking care of.
Need for ACTION, shows up like this:
* Inkling, Hint, or OUCH (a.k.a. the splinter) - Example, the car ïnsurance bill due every 6 months. A few months ahead you begin to think, "I oughta put back some monëy to pay that ïnsurance that's going to be due in December."
* Message: Bill arrives; you don't have the monëy to pay; you ignore the bill.
* Problem: Late due notice arrives, includes extra for late fees; it's Christmas time, and you just don't have any extra right nöw; you ignore the bill (that splinter is swollen and quite painful right nöw)
* Crisis: Your ïnsurance is cancelled, and you'll have to put out a lot more to get a new ïnsurance company to take you.
The epitome of delay in our society is credït card dëbt. If you look at credït cards realistically, when you charge something you are only delaying when and how much extra you'll pay for purchasing it. So you end up paying for a dinner you enjoyed months ago, PLUS the added interest.
When you allow delay to CONTROL your life, everybody and everything else is in charge of your life. You're not running your life, the ïnsurance company or the credït card company or your mother-in-law or the kids ARE.
When you delay, YOU - yes, YOU - create a crisis situation, and you end up without a choice. No Choice on how to spend that monëy - it MUST be used to pay the credït card. No Choice on how to spend your time. It MUST be used to go see your mother-in-law.
Your actions, your thoughts, your behavior, your monëy, your energy will be controlled by an external deadline.
Instead, when a problem is approached from an "eliminate delay" standpoint, sometimes only a small step is necessary to solve the problem - or to AVOID the problem altogether. An early response will usually allow time for making an informed decision based on CHOICE, instead of 'have to.'
Each one of these is harder and harder to deal with. Each one of these costs you more energy, time, monëy, and even a part of your spirit.
When you begin to Eliminate Delay from your life, you are able to respond to hints or inklings (such as a bill that WILL be due in the future), in a way that works FOR you, instead of having to respond in a way that's dictated by others (i.e. the ïnsurance company example).
Become the type of person who responds to problems and situations and others' requests (when appropriate) immediately. You'll be able to respond calmly and efficiently because you have the LUXURY of choice and reserves of time, energy, support, and monëy.
About the Author:
This is an excerpt from the E-book, "10 Things Between You and a Great Life!" by Professional Life Coach Kathy Gates. You can order the book, and view other books and programs designed to help you solve Real Life Challenges, and live a Happier, Easier, Better Life at http://www.reallifecoach.com
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