Stop Putting It Off

In a 1985 newspaper essay, Anne Wells wrote, “My brother-in-law opened my sister’s bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. It was an exquisite silk handmade slip; the price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. ‘Jan bought this the first time we went to New York…eight or nine years ago,’ [he said]. ‘She never wore it; she was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion.’ He put the slip on the bed with the other clothes we were taking—to the funeral home. Then he turned to me, ‘Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you’re alive is a special occasion!’” Those words changed Anne Wells’ life. She continued, “I’m not saving anything anymore. Now we use our good china…for every special occasion—like losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom. ‘Someday’ and ‘one of these days’ are fighting a losing battle to stay in my vocabulary. If it’s worth seeing, hearing, or doing, I want to see, hear, and do it now. I’m trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and lustre to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself this is a special occasion.” Makes you think, doesn’t it? Makes you want to drain the last ounce of joy out of every day and break free from the cement of procrastination that whispers, “You can do it later.” Wise up! Forgive that offense, tell that person you love them, take that trip, go back to school. Decide today to do the thing you’ve been putting off.