Procrastinationናሙና

“Comparison is the thief of joy” Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt

A very famous quote that carries so much weight, yet I’ve never really sat down to think about why that is so true. I agree that when we compare ourselves to others, it robs us of our joy. But have we ever thought about why we begin to compare in the first place?

When we compare ourselves to the next person, we see what they have or what they are doing that we are lacking in. But if it’s true that we can have anything that we want, then why do we compare? When we were children in school, a common thing that teachers would say is “You can be anything you want to be! The world is yours!” 

So, if this is the truth, then why do we still feel insecure and compare?

Here is the thing - When we look at what the next person is doing and we compare ourselves to them, we are seeing a reflection of our procrastination. We are seeing the space between what we are now and what we could be. We are seeing what we should be doing that we have instead pushed aside, placed on the back burner, or have just been simply too distracted to do.

So, in my opinion, it’s not only comparison that is the thief of joy, but it is procrastination.

If we didn’t procrastinate on what we truly want to do and wish to achieve, or more importantly, on what God is asking us to do, then we wouldn’t compare ourselves as much. Now, of course, we may struggle sometimes with feelings that the enemy tries to creep in our way, but nevertheless, we would understand the significance of our own journey that we have been called to and we would remain focused on every step that we are taking with our Father. We would no longer compare because we would understand that the person beside us is pursuing their own purpose, while I am pursuing mine. And that I’m no longer procrastinating nor allowing myself to be distracted by other things because I have now taken my life back and have prioritized what God is calling me to do versus what is distracting me.

So, if comparison is a result of procrastination, then what is procrastination the result of? It is simply a result of sin and a lack of trust in God. Now I know you might say that’s not true and that you do trust God but hear me out. 

John Grohol, a psychologist, and founder of Psych Central says that there are three main reasons people procrastinate: 

• A person overestimates the amount of time left to perform a task and underestimates the amount of time required to complete it.
• A person overestimates the amount of motivation they’ll have in the future (often believing they will be more motivated to do the task in the future).
• A person believes that they need to be in the right mood to be successful in completing the task and that, if they’re not in the right mood, they won’t be very successful at the task.

And he goes even further to say that the main roots of people procrastinating is because they are perfectionists, are fearful of not completing the task successfully, or are simply too disorganized with their time and resources.

Friends, it is a sin and a lack of trust in God when we procrastinate because we don’t believe that:

1. God has already given us all the tools that we need.

2. That we need to do it right now and we fall into the sin of thinking we have more time.

3.  We are lazy or disorganized with our time because we have not yet surrendered our schedules to God.

So, in these next few days, I want to give you some practical and biblical tools to help you. Let’s take a look at each one.