Procrastination's a B....

I found The Rambler and Johnson’s ideas to represent a little life lesson about pursuing what you are passionate about, procrastinating from doing so definitely (undoubtedly) an "evil." In reading this, I related it to my own feelings of wanting to do something, but hesitating to and/or delaying the action to. I don't think the language is hyperbolic or dramatic at all; I almost believe there could be no words describing just how tragic and damaging procrastination can be when it comes to doing something you love. There is a "gloom of anxiety" that hovers over us when we fear to take the plunge into something; I can relate to this when my "folly of allowing myself to delay what I knew could not finally be escaped" was when I began studying here not pursuing an English major. It inevitably finally hit me that the "moment of necessity" was upon me this fall to pursue an area of study I loved. A quote Johnson uses that I think is so valuable is "laziness is commonly associated with timidity;" I believe being shy and scared to pursue something can turn into laziness, or an almost paralyzing-effect from the overwhelming feels arisen. I think another important topic Johnson touches on is that doing something with the possibility of not doing it to perfection (or achieving excellence) deems the very thing unobtainable in our minds. Yet, we cannot be afraid to never reach perfection and/or to fail, because such things are part of life. Another valuable quote is “to act is far easier than to suffer,” which is entirely true (how much easier would it be for us to finish all of our work in advance than suffer through doing it at the very last minute?). “To neglect our duties, merely to avoid the labor of performing them, a labor which is always punctually rewarded, is surely to sink under weak temptations” also reflects another major fallacy in man’s minds, that somehow there is more reward in not doing something in the now than the one gained from actually doing it promptly. Lastly, I found Johnson’s ideas on multiple objects of desire or pursuit occurring simultaneously to hold very true: we focus too much time and energy on comparing the two than actually pursuing one. We become overwhelmed and waste time by waiting for the answer (the better of the two or many) to fall upon us. We do not advance. Therefore, it seems that procrastination applies to our desires, actions, and thoughts. It is a damning thing, really, if we let it take over.