Wanna hear a great procrastination joke?  OK, I’ll tell you tomorrow.

Yes, it’s easy to joke about procrastination but in truth, it’s no laughing matter.  When we procrastinate it may seem like a fun thing to do at the time, but all we’re really doing is hurting ourselves.  It’s like that old saying, "Procrastination is a lot like masturbation; in the end you’re just screwing yourself."  That may be a bit crude but it does make a good point.

Let’s say there’s something you really want to accomplish and you know the project will take about 20 hours to complete.  You might be tempted to think, "How am I ever going to find the time to do that?" So you keep postponing your task.

A better approach would be to simply spend an hour on your project each day.  Then, three weeks from now you will have a completed project.  You may be wondering where you will get this extra hour each day.  That’s easy, you’ll just spend less time doing unproductive things such as checking e-mail, watching TV, playing video games, talking on the phone, reading the newspaper or whatever.  Now I know if you read the paper regularly you may be wondering how you could possibly give it up.  Don’t worry, the world won’t come to an end if you skip the news for a while.  Since most of the news is depressing anyway you won’t miss a thing.  Plus, others will definitely tell you about the really important stuff.

Perhaps the biggest key to ending procrastination is just getting started.  That may sound like an oversimplification but I believe it really is that simple.  Recently, I was sick with an upper respiratory infection and I didn’t do my fitness routine for 2 weeks.  Right after that I had a guest for a week and again, I skipped my workouts.  This week I have no valid reason except that I simply haven’t got back into the habit.

Don’t let procrastination be the roadblock that keeps you from attaining everything you desire in life.  Focus on your desires and let them motivate you to take action.  Since a healthy life and a good level of fitness are things I desire, I’m going to do my workout as soon as I finish this post.  It’s time to remove another roadblock.

Are you directing your life or is your life directing you? Can you imagine listening to a symphony orchestra without a conductor? Everything would be disharmonious. The same is true of our lives; they need direction. It’s no secret that most people spend more time planning their wedding or their vacation that they do their lives. Why do most people leave their whole lives to chance? My guess is that they become stuck in a routine that simply becomes a habit.

I’ve known a good many people who end up in situations and wonder how they got there. It’s as if they make no correlation to their circumstances and their previous actions. For the most part, wherever you are in your life is a result of every decision you’ve ever made up to this point. Certainly, there are unforeseen circumstances from time to time but that’s not what I’m referring to. I’m talking about the decisions you make on a daily basis. A habit is nothing more than a decision that’s made regularly.
If you light up a cigarette, you are making a decision. If you gorge on potato chips, you are making a decision. If watch TV for hours and don’t get any exercise, you are making a decision. If you never take the time to relax, you are making a decision. If you spend money you don’t have, you are making a decision. The trouble is, a lot of people forget that they are making decisions because they’re functioning on auto pilot.

A great way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. If you think of your life as something that you can create then you will immediately begin to notice which habits are bringing you the things you desire and which ones are not. I’m sure you’ve probably heard the definition of insanity. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

The process of living with purpose and creating the life you desire can be distilled to 4 easy steps.

1.   Take inventory of your life. Are you getting the results you want?

2.   Write down all the things you’d like to have or accomplish. Take your time with this. Maybe you’ve never even stopped to think about what it is you really want.

3.   If you haven’t made a vision board now would be a great time to do this. For a vision board to be effective, you must review it every day. This is an effective way to communicate your desires to your subconscious. Since your subconscious wants you to be happy, it will do it’s best to deliver.

4.   You will now become more aware of your actions and decisions and how they affect the ability to achieve your dreams. Make a conscious effort to monitor your actions and ask yourself if they are in alignment with the things you want.

Once you become fully aware of this process, you can begin living a purposeful life. Living purposefully is like having a conductor for your music. You are the maestro. Now go and orchestrate the symphony of your life!