Chapter 8: Decision – The Mastery of Procrastination

I learned a lot in this chapter about American History and about myself. I am pleased to note that procrastination is not one of my pitfalls. That's not to say that I couldn't do better in this regard, I think we've all been guilty of procrastinating about one thing or another. However, I would like mention a few things that struck me as important to think about.

I've had the "privilege" of having a sister who takes twenty-two days to decide whether to wear a red dress or a blue dress. Watching my sister live her life in an almost perpetual state of indecision has led me to do the exact opposite. So, I'm pretty decisive about what I'm going to do or no do. That doesn't mean that I always make good decisions, but I try to stick with them as long as it is feasible. One of the things that took me a very long time to appreciate (and practice) was to keep my decisions to myself and just do what I need to accomplish. I've learned that those outside of your "mastermind group" usually don't prove to be very helpful. On the contrary, they seem to spend their time sowing doubts in my mind, berating ideas and undermining my resolve.

One of the best things that happened to me was being excommunicated was one of the best things that happened to me. It cut the last strangling cords from around my neck. I was cast adrift from everyone, my childhood friends and my family (at least the ones that were members). But, this was inevitable – once I divorced the man that was in the organization I knew I'd be an outcast. And I think even then, a part of me looked forward to it. I know that sounds strange, but these people, although they cared about me, spent all of their energy boxing me into a life that didn't make sense to me. Maybe it makes sense to them, but their efforts to "help" me just crushed my spirit and made me doubt my own mind. Since I no longer have their "helpful" advice, I find myself thriving in my life. I still have hard times, like everyone else, but I know that I'm doing the right thing for myself. And that is a great feeling.

The information about the founding of our country and the founding fathers was very interesting to me. Besides expanding my American history portfolio, it helped me to understand that making quick and decisive decisions is also a matter of courage. Procrastination is actually a form of cowardice. When people do not make decisions, when people allow others to make decisions for them they are engaged in an act of cowardice. Even if a decision turns out wrong, the fact that a decision was made is something to be proud about. I remember when I was taking online college classes I always seemed to be the team leader. Actually, I never wanted to be the team leader, but these guys couldn't get anything done. Just the act of choosing which segment of the paper the group would be a part of was something that would take days (that's what happened in my first class). After that, I just took over, assigned portions and got to work. But I was truly amazed at how much shilly-shallying adults could do over something as simple as which subheading you want to do research and write about.

I have not been aware of the how powerful the ability to make a decision is before reading this segment. I will strive to always be decisive and not be afraid to make a choice, whatever that choice may be.

Respectfully,

 

Cheryl Henderson