Could You, Could I Have Stopped
This Terrible Thing?

JULES HEARTLY | FEBRUARY 2024

I sat in front of my computer with an eagerness to write but with an empty mind or perhaps a too crowded one. What would be the driver of this conversation between my typing fingers and my blank page on the screen?

It could be to talk about February. The month where at some point we look back and realize we are already ahead on a new calendar year and our January Intentions seem to have been unmet with our realizations, activities, accomplishments.  

It is one of those things that makes the statistics right, and the mind uncomfortably wrong.   I understand now the common joke, but way too real thing where the commentators of all TV channel news or other programs start each month saying “I can’t believe it is already… and the name of the month”.  It feels unreal.  

Should we blame it in Quantum Physics? 

Or in the crowdedness of our busy lives with a large number of items on our pending, or to-do-lists, or our wanting to accomplish things.    And perhaps not because of the few items we have recently added to them, but because of the large number  still unmet.  The ones we haven’t been able to check out for weeks, and perhaps for months.  

Or a combination of both. Which brings me to the question: perhaps those weren’t  priorities? or how Marie Kondo  would say “those items would not bring joy”.  And how to know that? Well, let’s see when one take a minute to see where time had gone and what things  have been done, one may notice that perhaps other more urgent things came in, other more joyful things too and hopefully among those,  first place was given to spend time with friends, talk to loved ones, and kept the flow going with long distance friends via WhatsApp or so.   And although that is all good and all, it does constitute an excuse to derail one’s goals.   In fact, one’s goals should account for that time and those circumstances, otherwise it would lead to perpetual  procrastination. 

And that is the culprit!  Of it all!  The reason February’s mood sometimes is bugged.  The reality of the unhealthy check-up.  But it is not all bad.  The awareness of it provides a chance.  An opportunity to regroup and get back on track.  Revise the how-to’s, the intentions and put the missing element: THE EMOTION.  The satisfaction of visualizing the accomplished goal.  The pleasure of having moved forward. The enjoyment of imagining the objectives met, your desires achieved. For example, Feel the sand under your feet, the warm water of the sea waves caressing them, hear the soothing sound of the ocean while having the sensation of the sun on your skin, and a soothing breeze playing with your hair, if one of your goals is a vacation by the sea.

Notice your heart pumping faster and the adrenaline moving through your body as you get the news of a promotion, or a financial goal met, or a presentation being successful whatever your goal is. Feel it. Live it in your mind. Keep the sensation.

The key element is to hold on to that vibration, to that sensation. So kind of living in the present with the sensation of your future accomplishment.  LIVING TODAY WHILE DREAMING OF TOMORROW. That is a driver.  It creates contentment in the present moment, a sort of joy that pushes one’s gently to take action in the directions of one’s aims, plans, targets until they are fulfilled. 

This perception, or attitude, will help stop procrastination.  Suddenly it would become easier to say NO to anything that is not on the path to match the wanted goals. 

It will also help to remove the feeling of overwhelm that usually comes when we overbooked ourselves. 

Of course, to get there, it is also necessary to have clarity. To have a good level of certainty on what are the main items you want to achieve, those that are dear to you, those that would bring the most joy, the most peace, the biggest impact in your life (personal, or career wise or both).

Tackle those first. Focus on them first every day, hopefully in the morning, after visualizing them accomplished.  After bringing out that sensation of joy, of gratification, of peace of mind, for finally  getting  them done.  That will set the tone for the rest of the day. 

And that applies to any month. It does not have to be February…. The idea is to get to the next one, the next month carried by the satisfactory feeling of being on the path to achieve what we yearn for and sometimes of having already gotten there. 

I know I am not the only one who has dealt with the procrastination issue.   How did you overcome it?  I would love to hear your story.  

Write a comment and let me know!

Thank you for reading my blog,  My invitation to also  read my novel In the Shadows Of Gunshots available online on Barnes & Noble and on Amazon 

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