I believe that life is a puzzle, made up of millions of pieces, or in other words experiences; career, school, relationships, money, vacation, camp, good times, bad times, sickness, regret, deceit, etc. This list could literally go on forever, but what is important to realize is that every single experience that takes place in your world will provide you with a piece to your puzzle of life. Each of these pieces will enable you to get closer to completing your puzzle and revealing your ideal life.

Now you might be asking yourself, “How many people get to the point of actually completing their puzzle?” And the answer is none because human beings are most comfortable when they are “fence sitting.” The definition of a “fence sitter” is someone whose complacency and over-analysis of every situation prevents personal growth and ultimately the puzzle from being completed. We were born to take action, even if the action we take is not in the direction of our ideal life, it still enables us to begin a journey and experience everything that the world will present on our path. Procrastination equals a slow death because it results in stagnation, emptiness, and a feeling of regret. When we are stuck in this place, opportunities that could have become available fly by the waist side as we are oblivious to our surrounding environment.

For example, maybe you are overweight and as a result of being a few extra pounds, you begin to procrastinate when it comes to diet, exercise, and personal development, as it seems like it will take forever to complete this section of your puzzle of life. Unfortunately, a side effect of your lack of action is that your self-worth diminishes, your relationships suffer, you perform poorly, and you wake up every morning with absolutely no energy, passion, or will to live. This dilemma you are facing has absolutely nothing to do with being a few pounds overweight, but everything to do with NOT TAKING ACTION. As I mentioned before, procrastination is a slow and painful death where you watch the image that looks back at you from the mirror begin to dissipate, as your identity is lost and you become a shell of what you once were.

Even if weight is not your challenge, and instead career, relationships, finances, or spirituality is an issue that you face, the underlying root to the quandary is a lack of action. Action does not only need to be physical, as in diet and exercise, but rather comes in a variety of forms. The most important component to action is the space between your ears. Two questions that you should ask yourself are:

Where is this taking place in my life?

And

Why am I allowing it took occur?

The “where” is something that only you can answer, but the “why” is going to be fairly consistent amongst all of you because it deals with issues associated with self-worth and an inability to start the process.

If you are committed to making tomorrow different then listen to what your “gut” is telling you to do. Your intuition will never lead you on a path where your growth will be stifled, but it is important to realize that there is a good chance your decision will elicit an uncomfortable emotion. This feeling of doubt is called “The Unknown,” because regardless of what path you take, it will be uncharted territory in your world. But like Alan Alda once said, “You have to leave the city of your comfort zone and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.”

It is time to trust yourself to continue building the puzzle of your life because even if there are 1,000’s of pieces, and you do not know where to start, realize that you possess all of the tools you need to take action and live a life filled with endless opportunities.

Is procrastinating getting in the way of your LIFE?

What does this mean to you? Please leave a comment.

Some pictures from Flickr.

We are thirty days away from 2010 and I have a feeling that this will be a year to remember for those who are committed to making changes, which will result in the reclamation of your life and the realization of what makes you…YOU! The reason I have decided to compose this blog post for all of you today is because the NEW YEAR starts RIGHT NOW! What I often find is that people tell themselves they are going to begin a “diet” in the New Year, start working out in the New Year, become more conscious with their family in the New Year, create a business in the New Year, seek help for an addiction or disorder in the New Year, and the list could goes on and on. I am sure that every single person who is reading this blog post can relate with the concept of making a change in the New Year that never actually takes place. The result is just another year of unfulfilled goals, debilitated dreams, and a person who is no different this year than the last. But if you are truly committed, and your WHY is more substantial than your HOW, then the time is here to start the New Year Resolution process.

Studies show that it takes twenty-one days to make or break a habit, but I believe that having an extra nine definitely could not hurt. As a culture, we often put things off until “tomorrow” because just the thought of taking action on something that happens to be plaguing our existence is a task that we yearn to address at a later date. The problem which arises is that “tomorrow” never comes because we consistently tell ourselves that we will start the process on the tomorrow after tomorrow. What you must realize is that once you think about something that needs to change, there is NO BETTER TIME to begin the implementation method then at that point. The actual results will not be achieved the day that we begin, but will start as the process unfolds. This is the same for your New Year Resolutions because we feel the pressure to proclaim what we are going to do differently this year once the clock strikes midnight, only to awake the next morning without the insatiable desire which is necessary to have a change like this take place. I do not believe that this is a universal dilemma, but I do believe that it is as close as you can possibly get to negatively impacting the lives of everyone. Whether the tasks we need to accomplish are petty and mundane, or the goals that we set are critical to the way we live our lives, ACTION must be taken, rather than PROCRASTINATION, to affect a change.

I know that 2009 has been one that will go down in infamy as a result of the financial crisis, healthcare debacle, rising unemployment, sub-prime mortgages, war, ponzi schemes, oil shortages, etc., but there is no better way to welcome the new year than to have already begun the process of CHANGE for thirty days.  These next four weeks will provide you with a foundation to grow from during 2010 and beyond. If you doubt this strategy, or you do not intend on following it because you believe that “this year will be different,” I encourage you to answer this question…

HOW COULD IT HURT TO START THE PROCESS EARLY?

If what you have done in the past has not provided you with the results you were looking to accomplish, then it is time to change what you do in the present so that your future will be drastically different. My goal with this blog post, like all blog posts, is to make you think while taking an introspective journey through your own life in order to determine where changes need to take place. Maybe this has to do with one of your relationships, your lack of diet or exercise, the amount of time you spend with your children, breaking a disorder or addiction, starting a business, writing book, etc. Whatever it is for you, I want you to understand the NEW YEAR STARTS RIGHT NOW!

I encourage you to comment on this blog post and share with the other BRANDENTITY MEMBERS what you intend on doing differently TODAY, in order to achieve your goals in 2010. We are here to support each member, while holding you accountable, so that you can begin living the life that you create for yourself, as opposed to the life that someone or something creates on your behalf…

Therefore, I would like to wish you a HAPPY RIGHT NOW NEW YEAR!

Describe how 2010 will be different for you than any other year…

What does this mean to you? Please leave a comment.

Acknowledgements for the picture from Flickr.

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