I procrastinated the publishing of this article for over 3 months
We need buzzwords to realize something we’ve already known for centuries. One of these buzzwords I happened to stumble upon only about five years ago is procrastination.
I mean, it’s not a new phenomenon. Almost all of us must have known it for years. I’m sure most of you dear readers have experienced it. Postponing something was known to me since I was a kid. It had the same effect as it has now.
But there’s a slight, hardly noticeable difference. At the moment everybody talks about it. In every circumstance, whether it makes sense or not.
I don’t want to pretend that the psychological coaching or whatsoever industry creates such buzzwords. Certainly not, but buzzwords may make an industry.
Maybe some of you remember about 30 years ago. All of a sudden, very active kids suffered from ADD (attention deficit disorder). Later, experts added “hyperactivity.” ADHS (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) was born. And this was the origin of an ever-growing industry in the psycho-medical sector.
And now, for a while, procrastination makes the headlines. Some days ago, the idea came into my mind that the importance we attribute to an expression can be a musical question. How does the term sound? We need words that trigger our musical ear. The linguistic challenge of pronouncing them seems to make us happy.
Speak this word out loud: procrastination.
And my dear readers, this is the same in all my languages, only the pronunciation differs.
- German: Prokrastination.
- French: procrastination
- Spanish: procrastinación
When I first discovered this term, I felt the need to pronounce it. It reminded me of the sensation when I learned a new word as a kid. And it’s still the case with unknown expressions in a foreign language. I love to hear me formulating them. I enjoy the experience of my mouth’s movements. Moving my tongue, opening my lips, maybe touching my teeth, and feeling the air caressing my palate. Try to speak procrastination very quickly. It’s a tongue twister.
Hence, when we stumble over a new expression and trigger some curiosity, we may repeat it several times to feel its haptic sensation. Thus, it engraves itself into our minds.
Thus, to enhance something, give it a buzzword. Finally, it will get the importance it deserves.
“Procrastination”, an expression of 15 letters must describe something important. A word with such a powerful sound must have grave importance. I mean, compare procrastination to postpone. Got it? Got my point? Another fundamental issue is its origin. It’s a Latin word, and as wannabe intellectuals, we have learned that using Latin or Greek words makes the academic. They sound scientific, scholarly, serious. And with a bit of media push, a whole industry suddenly emerges out of nothing, out of pure linguistic energy like a big bang. I doubt that this commercialization of situations, behaviors, or phenomenons has the slightest effect on the object itself. But at least it contributes to the living of this newly born industry. That’s pretty cool. It creates employment. And after all, we are getting conscious of our behavior. Naming it with a handy expression may attract widespread attention.
Some days ago, I read an article on medium.com claiming that procrastination is just another way of being productive. It’s an interesting point of view. Anyway, dear reader, why do we need to fight a behavior we have? What do we need to optimize ourselves for? OK, I admit, if we suffer from one of our characteristics, we need help. That’s clear. But is productivity really the key to quality to happiness? Is it not the most natural desire to only do what we love? And why not? I am so tired of reading I love hard-working blah blah blah what’s the point in this protestant, Prussian whatsoever ethics?
Why not claim I’m here in this life to be happy. Life must be a source of happiness. If not, what should you look for? Why not working for fun?
Once I read a quote in a snack bar:
“When we do what we love, we’ll never have to work again.”
There’s no inconvenience in doing only things we like to do. Let’s embrace our weaknesses if we call the church. Let’s be gentle with ourselves.
Procrastinate before it’s too late to postpone. Delay this task to another date. It’s only a deadline. Let loose. Focus on something else. You will see, you will overcome your hindering attitude, and suddenly, the deed is done.
Got my point? The more we focus on something, the greater the chance of an adverse effect.
But procrastination definitely sounds cool. It’s worth this article on medium.
And remember, chill. Stay cool.
rocknrolll
0 Comments