About fear and the future

"Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today."

A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world this secret of his success. As the man who discovered electricity, among other pretty astounding accomplishments like inventing bifocals, the Franklin Stove, swim fins and not the least of which, drafting the Declaration of Independence, you'd think more people would pay heed to what he had to say. 

I don’t know why we put things off, but if I had to wager a guess, I’d propose it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear of just of making a decision, because what if you’re wrong? What if you’re making a mistake you can’t undo? What if it costs you hard earned cash? What if it pisses someone off? Having said all that, as a civilized society we have embraced a plethora of idioms (sayings) warning of the evils of procrastination, lest we stray down that path.

The early bird catches the worm. 

A stitch in time saves nine. 

He who hesitates is lost.

You snooze, you lose.

A day late, a dollar short.

We’ve all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, and even poets urge us to seize the day (thank you Robin Williams). We still have to experience it for ourselves, at least most of the time, because we don't like to be told what to do. 

We have to make our own mistakes. 

We have to learn our own lessons.

Franklin wasn't alone in his thinking though, and a little detective work reveals a number of quotes made famous that are along the same vein of thinking:

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." 

Don Marquis, 1927
"Things dreaded require double time to accomplish them." 

James Lendall Basford, 1882

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do to-day." 

Thomas Jefferson, 1825

Enlightenment arrives when we finally understand what ol' Ben really meant.

Knowing is better than wondering.

Waking is better than sleeping.

Even the biggest failure of the worst variety beats the hell out of never trying.

Take the bat off your shoulder!

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will!

The source of much of our hesitation comes from the fear generated by spending an exorbitant amount of time worrying about the future ... Planning for it ... Trying to predict it ... Praying that knowing will somehow cushion the blow of coming cringe-worthy events. 

The thing is, the future is always changing in response to our actions of today. The future is the home of our deepest fears, yet our wildest hopes. What we can be certain of, however, is that when it finally reveals itself, the future will never the way we imagined it, so the time for action is now.

“Indecisiveness and procrastination are the chosen ways of life for most people. They follow the course of least resistance, which is to do nothing. This provides a security blanket of never being wrong, never making mistakes, never being disappointed, and never failing. But they will also never succeed.”

David Peoples, Oscar nominated screen writer of "Unforgiven"

Thanks Ben! 

Class dismissed.

As always, I thank those far smarter than me for posting their thoughts in a place where their discovery prompts deeper reflection on my part. I have borrowed some of their words because I couldn't possibly have said it any better. Since the sources were multiple and varied, I respectfully offer them thanks and credit in a blanket statement.