6 Ways Procrastination Is Ruining Your Life

1. You’re stripping yourself of the chance to learn. Failure isn’t a curse you should avoid at all costs. It’s a blessing in disguise. It can help you learn, help you grow, help you reach whatever goal it is you’re setting out to accomplish. If you take away your chance to better yourself, you’re doing yourself a disservice. It’s much better for you to try, fail, and try again than to sit around waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

2. You’re living in your head more than reality. When you procrastinate, you spend a lot of time wondering what would’ve happened if you chose a different path, if you took a chance on yourself, if you put yourself out there earlier in life. But if you push aside your fears and actually try, then you don’t have to wonder. The what-ifs won’t keep you awake at night because you’ll have your answer. You might not like it but it’s always better to know than to wonder.

3. You’re not going to get any better while sitting around, waiting. There’s a difference between actively working on your craft and procrastinating by watching movies and television and pushing your dreams to the back of your mind. If you’re doing the latter, then there’s no reason to wait. You aren’t getting any better at your craft in the meantime. You might as well chase after your dreams today because nothing is going to change by tomorrow. You’ll still be the same person with the same skillset.

4. The moment is never going to be right. Sometimes, it pays to stay patient and wait for your moment to strike. But usually, waiting for the right time is simply an excuse. Your fear is holding you back. You feel like you aren’t ready yet so you don’t want to try — but you might never feel ready. You might always have a reason to put your dreams on hold. If you let yourself, you could spend your entire life waiting and waiting without ever doing a damn thing.

5. You’re putting your life on hold. You might not fail if you put in the effort. You might actually succeed. The longer you wait to chase after your dreams, the longer it will be until you reach them. You need to start putting in the work now. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long time until you see results. You don’t want to put yourself through all that waiting, so make a move today.

6. You’re allowing your doubts to take control of you. Even the most talented people on the planet have doubts about themselves. They question whether they are good enough to succeed — and once they do, they question whether the success is going to last. Remember, it’s natural to be afraid of taking that next step. But you aren’t going to change your life by repeating the same patterns over and over. You need to put your future in your own hands. You need to play an active role in your own life.