So no one is perfect. And no matter how outwardly pious the person, everyone inwardly has some hidden (or not so) vice or excess that they must learn to tame. Here's a top 23 list: Substance Abuse 1) Cigarettes 2) Alcohol 3) Drugs Greed 4) Food 5) Money (e.g. gambling, hoarding) 6) Materialism (e.g. homes, cars, boats, planes, jewels, clothes, etc.) Obsessive Compulsive 7) Work 8) Sex 9) Popularity (e.g. talking, partying) 10) Religion 11) Sport 12) Control Anger 13) Violence 14) Abuse (e.g. verbal, emotional, physical) 15) Rape Callous 16) Indifference 17) Tardiness 18) Laziness Egotistical 19) Selfish 20) Boastful Crooked 21) Lying 22) Cheating 23) Stealing Think about the people you know--love 'em or hate 'em--and is there anyone that doesn't have one of these to some extent or another? And for those of you wondering, my vice is, of course, pizza! ;-) (Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I learned a new word/concept today...PREcrastination (New York Times)
It's when you do things early!
The better known opposite word is PROcrastintion.
That's when you put things off or delay...often until the very last minute.
We know why people procrastinate--they don't want or like to do something, have more important things to do, may be overwhelmed with too many taskers, or perhaps they are just plain lazy.
But why do people precrastinate?
Well, it's sort of the inverse of the above--they may like doing it, it may be a priority, or they just may want to get "ahead of the curve" on all the things they have on their to-dos, or they may be a Type A personality and don't rest until they've "got a handle on things."
Getting things done at the last minute (procrastination), can push off stress until later--perhaps a better time to deal with it, but getting it done early (precrastination), can help eliminate stress by just getting it over with.
Some of us who get things done right away, may be doing extra work, because at times, the necessity of the moment is "overcome by events" (OBE) later on or we may start something before we even have all the directions or information and do it wrong altogether.
While others who dilly-dally, may find that they waited too long to get the job done or have other things going on later that precludes them from meeting the timeline--as they say, "if you fail to plan, plan to fail!"
Is there a right or wrong in terms of Pre/Procrastination?
I want to tell you now, but I think I'll wait until later. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Andy Blumenthal is Deputy Program Director at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader with over 35 years of experience delivering results across the public and private sectors. All opinions are his own.