Procrastination can lead to discouragement and depression. We put off doing something, and then it gets bigger and more difficult, so we put it off again. Our philosophy is, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after tomorrow.” The molehill becomes a mountain, and you’re really depressed. My advice is: Just do it. If you have to eat a bunch of frogs, go ahead and eat the big one first. Get it over with.
When I practiced psychology, people often told me that they were too depressed to get out of bed. I would say, “You have to get out of bed.” They would say, “I’m too depressed. How do I get out of bed?” I would say, “Take one foot and put it on the floor and stand up. That’s how you get out of bed. Do it.” I’ve done it. I’ve gone to work depressed. I’ve given speeches depressed. I can’t tell someone to announce, “Charles is depressed, so we won’t have a speaker today.” I think I’ve even spoken on depression while depressed.
A colleague of mine had a patient who was a college student who was depressed because she couldn’t seem to get her homework done. She came to see him and instead of doing psychotherapy with her and having her lie on the sofa and talk about her mother, he suggested they work on homework for the first 30 minutes and then talk the next 30 minutes. He found that when she finished her homework, she wasn’t as depressed. When she got something done, she felt better about herself.
A farmer in Tennessee commented that lightning had struck an old shed and relieved him of having to tear it down. The rain washed off his car and saved him from that chore, too. When asked what he was doing now, he replied, “Waiting for an earthquake to shake the potatoes out of the ground.”
What are you waiting for? The time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining. There is a difference between living in the waiting room and waiting in the living room. “One of these days” is “none of these days.” Whatever sits on the shelf rots. There are no perfect and ideal situations. You may end up like the young man who vowed never to marry until he found the ideal woman. Unfortunately, when he found her she was waiting for the ideal man. One cannot wait until the entire army is in perfect condition before facing the enemy. General McClellan was waiting for the army to get ready during the first year of the Civil War. President Lincoln asked if he might borrow the army if McClellan weren’t going to use it.
Abraham didn’t have a destination, but he packed up and left home. Moses didn’t have a clue, yet he walked into Pharaoh’s palace. If you wait until you’re sure, you’ll never take off your training wheels.
Three turtles went on a Sunday-afternoon picnic. One carried the basket of food, one carried a jug of turtle-aide, and the third turtle didn’t carry anything. They set up the picnic and then felt raindrops. The two turtles agreed that the one who carried nothing should go back and get the umbrella. The third turtle said, “No, because you’ll eat all the turtle food and drink all the turtle-aide and there won’t be any left for me.” Finally, he agreed to go back for the umbrella. One hour, two hours, three hours went by and finally one day, one week, and two weeks. One of the turtles said, “Well, I guess we can eat the turtle food and drink the turtle-aide because he’s not coming back.” Then they heard something over in the bushes say, “If you do, I won’t go.”
Most of us are like the turtle. We’re afraid that if we jump out there and do something, we might miss the picnic. The truth is, we will miss the picnic by not trusting God and not doing our part. Don’t you think it’s time to take off the training wheels?