One of the dumbest things we do is delay the inevitable. And I know why we do it. Well, at least I know why I do it. Delaying the inevitable is an attempt to avoid pain. But delaying the inevitable doesn’t eliminate what’s to come or even mitigate its symptoms. In fact, delaying the necessary and unavoidable only makes things worse.
Like having a hard conversation with a close friend.
Or confronting the behavior of a dysfunctional relationship.
Or finally putting discipline in place to get out of debt.
Or in shape.
Or actually wake-up when the alarm sounds.
So, our knee-jerk response is often to hit snooze, pull the covers over our head, turn our cheek, and pray that the next nine minutes lasts for an eternity.
Too often, we succumb to the temptation to do just that in many areas of life.
And that’s dumb.
Hitting Snooze on Life
“Hitting snooze” on this life that never stops moving is a misguided attempt to numb or even evade life’s difficult turns, especially when the incessant chirping of the alarm is a monotone reminder of inevitable. The common misconception in doing so is that by closing our eyes and ears to the hard stuff, we’ll escape it. But truth be told, we’re tricking ourselves. And the first place prize for tricking ourselves in this case is usually regret, often chased down by a tall glass of guilt and shame.
It’s sort of like tiptoeing into the pool.
Cannonball
I’m sure you’ve done it. Heck, I have. When I was younger, I used to take a half hour to get into the water instead of diving in and getting adjusted. And that half hour meant time not spent having fun and getting on with the day. Was the water uncomfortably cooler than I would’ve liked? Yeah. But the quicker I made a full commitment to get in the water, the quicker I got adjusted. Looking back, I even justified my delay of the inevitable with excuses such as, “I’m just getting comfortable first.”
Sort of how we approach life, right?
It’s for that reason I’m convinced that comfort is the enemy of our generation. If something doesn’t feel good, we avoid it. But as I stated earlier, avoiding and delaying the uncomfortable inevitable is bad for our health and absolutely cannot be sustained.
If you’ve been baited to walk on “easy street,” allow me to throw a roadblock in your path and pull you over to the other side. While the following is not exhaustive, here are four reasons you and I must stop delaying the inevitable:
4 Reasons Why You Must Stop Delaying the Inevitable
- Delaying the inevitable also delays crossing to the other side. And crossing to the other side most often affords us a fresh start with fresh perspective and renewed resources.
- Delaying the inevitable creates more internal stress than resolving an issue and moving on. Have you ever put off a hard conversation with a close friend or significant other? Recount the nervousness, lack of appetite, and irritability. How fun was that? I thought so. Spare yourself the prolonged agitation and dive deep into taking care of business as quickly and effectively as possible.
- Delaying the inevitable stunts our emotional growth. Too often as a society, we shy away from confrontation, the pursuit of truth, and anything uncomfortable as it pertains to relationships or even our personal development. Somehow, we’ve grown to believe that if pain is involved in a situation, it must be the wrong pursuit.
- Delaying the inevitable sabotages character development. Quitting when something is uncomfortable becomes an easy out. But quitting robs us of the big boy and big girl trait known as endurance. Moreover, delaying the inevitable facilitates the exchange between the “right thing to do” and “the convenient thing to do.”
The next time you’re challenged to hit “snooze,” wake-up, face reality, and take care of business. You’ll be glad you did.
In the comment section below, describe one difficult area of your life you’ve been avoiding. What is your plan to change?
