Dealing with Procrastination

by Opeyemi Soremekun

Procrastination is intentionally putting off something that should be done to the possible last minute. If you are in the habit of avoiding some specific tasks or postponing the things you need to get accomplished you may be suffering from the "silent killer" called procrastination. Unfortunately we have all suffered from this silent killer or probably still suffering from it. Side effects of procrastination include missed opportunities, stress, resentment and guilt. (more…)

How to Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination is something most of us are guilty of at one time or another. Essentially it means avoiding or delaying things that you ought to be doing and instead using the time for less important but more pleasurable things. Eg watching TV with a take-out meal when you should be taking exercise or tackling that mountain of dull but necessary paperwork.

Why do I Procrastinate?

Simply put, we procrastinate because we favor the pleasure of the moment over something less pleasurable that might bring greater pleasure (or avoid displeasure) in the future. (more…)

Beyond the Serenity Prayer

As discussed in Wisdom of the Serenity Prayer the words of Reinhold Niebuhr provide an excellent guide for living:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

However, once we have absorbed and started to apply this principle we may begin to recognize that life is not, unfortunately, so simple. This article presents two further considerations in determining how we should apply our limited resources. (more…)

Know Yourself

Self Concept, Self Awareness

beware the man behind the mask, he hides the truth behind the mask

It is said that a major purpose of life is to learn, and also that we never stop learning.

In most human societies learning is institutionalized from a very early age in the form of compulsory schooling. In developed countries formal education can eat up the best part of two decades of an individual's life.

Furthermore, we are constantly reminded that we live in the information age or knowledge economy. Multiple TV channels, cell phones, the Internet... These days we need to continue absorbing knowledge just to survive.

One of the main rules of witchcraft is "know thyself", but for all the knowledge that surrounds us how many of us can claim to REALLY know ourselves?

It might seem like a no-brainer; after all we ARE ourselves, so how can we not know what makes us tick? But very often human beings function on autopilot. Our decisions are conditioned by our upbringing, our peers, the expectations of others... (more…)

The Power of Focus

Isn’t life amazing? Though sometimes frustrating, overwhelming, even infuriating, our journey through the material world is a truly fantastic adventure filled with potential for fulfilment and pleasure. But how many of are actually taking advantage of all that is on offer? Or to put it another way, how many of us are simply coasting through on cruise control and missing much of what’s out there?

Life is certainly complex. Numerous things demand our attention, and in the final analysis most of these urgencies are utterly meaningless. Have we paid the gas bill?, remembered Mrs X’s birthday?, chosen the right outfit for the company “do”?….. The list is endless. The trouble is, with so much noise, can we even hear – never mind respond to – the real message? (more…)

Living in the Moment

Live not for tomorrow,
yearn not for the past,
live only for the moment,
it’s all that is ours.

These words should be obvious, but how many of us find it so difficult to focus our attention on the moment.

Perhaps as an attempt to abdicate personal responsibility we too often tend to fall into one of two traps. Either our attention is fixed upon the past, memories of how it was, and how it was so much better than now… Or we imagine that everything will be alright tomorrow. Only tomorrow never comes!

If we can look back at the past and identify happy times, that is great. Some can only remember sadness. Of course it does no harm at all to reminisce from time to time. But, for whatever reason we have been “spared” to exist in the present and so it is our implicit duty to make the most of that most precious of times – now. (more…)

Finding Fulfillment

Knowing thyself

A necessary and key condition for a fulfilling life is that our efforts are aligned with our true goals. Although this sounds simple, and self-evident, sadly many people go through life without even being aware of their true nature or what their goals are; it’s unsurprising such folk struggle to find satisfaction

This article presents a straightforward framework for discovering your goals and creating a roadmap for their realization.

The suggested mechanism consists of 9 components: (more…)

Time Management Techniques

The Benefits of Time Management

Despite the relentless march of technological progress many of us are busier and more pressured than ever before. Take the cell phone as an example. Just a few years ago if we were out, we were out of contact, and that was that. Now we’re contactable 24 hours a day, wherever we may be. And, more often that not, that out of hours contact brings yet more to be done.

If you do have too much to do in too little time, be pleased. At least you are special and in demand. It also shows you are living life fully, if not necessarily in the wisest fashion.

A less frequent, and possibly worse, problem is that of not having enough to fill our time. The over-worked and over-stressed may think this is an enviable position to be in, but think again. If we cannot fully utilize our time we begin to question the very reasons for our existence.

Fortunately the ideas of time management can help in both situations. (more…)

Purpose and Motivation

A Personal Manifesto

The motives we display often differ from our true purpose. Finding and pursuing that true purpose is a major part of life’s mission. I hope these words may help you maximize your motivation through discovering and aligning with your true purpose, and in so doing find both happiness and fulfillment during this journey we call life. (more…)