We seem to be headed towards a style of living that leads to more consumption.
Kind of a “The One with the most toys wins” mentality and that more and more people are buying into. We want things faster and we want it now. I see more people consuming and less producing. And people are happy with that. I guess that is where my thoughts led me

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That is very true – but not so new. We live in a world of Instant Gratification. I want it now and I want it for less is a definite issue. That is the reason America outsources almost everything. That is why almost everything we buy or own is made “somewhere else”. But I think that may be a different discussion altogether…

As I said yesterday, your thoughts on this are spot on. Great expansion on your comments to me.

I am glad you spoke to “waste”. We leave a legacy…period. What will it be? That is completely dependent on what we’ve consumed and what we’ve produced.

A thought popped up on my post this AM, that spoke to America’s change in economical perspective. Here was the quote,

“It used to be that the country’s economic health was measured (in part) by its Gross National Product (GNP) or simply by what it produced. Today this economic indicator has been replaced (really superseded) by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This indicator is comprised of such components as consumption (personal spending), investments, and government spending.”

This implies to me, that for us to survive, we have to be more consumers driven. In turn, less will be produced, or less will actually be doing the producing. Inevitably we become more lazy and comfortable in our own selfishness.

That scares me!

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Thanks for the comment Brent.
I do not know if I actually agree with how you have understood the difference. Just because we are becoming more consumer-driven – does not imply that we produce less – or that less will be doing the producing. And even if it does – It is the quality of the production (or the mark we leave – or the things we do) not the quantity. Do we become more lazy or comfortable in our own selfishness – or do we use the “extra” time created by these “luxuries” to create a better more positive world. Nothing has changed – it is all about the Ya-ttitude and how you perceive yours!

Benny

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You are most correct Jody!
Simple Basics seem to have that way of making us think straight again

Ben

Really nice topic! I read this a couple times already and some of the things that really struck me are:
1. Planning- Often I think about some stuff but never write it down and/or don’t put them in action. WHY? Because I tend to push it off for a later date.
2. The 8 hour plan- This is huge. I have started to write my plan for every hour and I just go by that. It works better for me on my
days-off.
3. Stop thinking and start acting- As simple as that.
4. Public commitment- Here it is……

NO more procrastination fo me Benny.

Best,

K

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Thanks for the comments K –

I am very happy that some of my thoughts have rubbed off on you and have started to make a difference with you.
I am more than happy to help you with your plan and plan of attack if you wish – just drop me a note

Ben

Hi Benny,
You sure have put a lot of thought into it. And for most part I am with you in your arguments.
However, it’s imperative for me to point out that taking an elephant apart and examining its various body parts separately and viewing it simply as a whole living elephant are two completely different things. And the conclusions you may arrive at would also be vastly different too using both these approaches. Hence I request you to analyze what is being said very holistically.
Further, defining procrastination narrowly as putting off things due to carelessness and laziness is ok, in a narrow context, but if we do find ourselves procrastinating about some very big issues, it’s wiser to go deeper and find out the source of our reluctance.
So you are right when it’s a matter of daily operational decisions, that to procrastinate would be unwise, but when it comes to the really big things, the same does not apply.
The moot point of my arguments has been to highlight how we are predisposed and prejudiced towards actions, even sometimes against our intuition, and how that can sometimes lead to disastrous consequences. And Benny, have you heard of the term called ‘proactively waiting’? Here it takes a completely different belief system to understand the power of time and what it can do.
I also feel that we could be on either sides of the spectrum on this because of our cultural differences. So let me reiterate a few points.
On small everyday operational matters, I am with you and against procrastination, simply because it’s useless. Rather dive into it and do it. And I have said so in my arguments.
On issues where we delay for reasons unknown, or when the consequences of action could be quite profound, it’s very important to listen carefully to our intuition and not give in to our predisposition to act. If indeed we are feeling lazy or not up to it to do something, it would do us well do dig deeper to find out what is causing us to pause. It will perhaps lead us to the real source of our hesitation.
Here the consequences of acting would be far more dangerous than not acting. Kindly also examine how good we feel we take action, but for that minor satisfaction, we may create stuff which could harm us more.
Hope this does clarify the thought process and ambiguity if any. I chose not to break down the argument piece by piece because it distorts the meaning of the message.

Best Regards,
Harish Nair

Best Regards,

Harish Nair

Ethan

Most importantly, of all the above qualities must be followed with consistent action to produce tangible results. Like you rightly said, run away from procrastination to achieve that dream. Embrace action.

Ethan Musolini
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Thanks for the kind words Ethan. Procrasti-NATION Must fall – you are correct! I like your blog as well – on my feed list now. And thanks for the props…
Ben

I understand where you are coming from. Yet i believe, procastination whether its a virtue or a vice is totally dependent on the context. In many cases, we do not like to do something and push it for later, for reasons that we understand or we dont, somehow there would be something that holds us back…its at times like these, to go against our normal pressure to act and resolve, that i advise that we stop and ponder. Indeed, procastination is our intuitive mechanism asking for time…and i think its many a times wiser to listen to it.

The western concept of action and [indeed mindless action]
and speed and goals and targets and such has created a society where time has lost its beauty and man is just a small cog in a mindless machine processing life in quantity rather than quality. So whilst, its important to do what you should and must do, its important to heed to your intuition and that small voice which asks for a delay…not listening to it may get you a small tick on your to do list, but you will never know what is lost and what could have happened had you waited.

Finally, procastination would have saved billlions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives if Bush had procastinated… hundreds of lives would have been saved had those cops not shot first and looked later in tense situations…

This crazy need for speed and to get things done has its rewards but also has its costs, which we dont or do not want to calculate…procastination would indeed help the world to consider life more peacefully and wholistically.

Best Regards,

Harish Nair