Delay and Denial Are Bad for your Health
By Judith Parker Harris | March 27, 2010
Block: Delay
Buster: Action
Would you like to know the one thing that keeps you from getting what you want out of life? Drum roll, please. Not taking action to make it happen. C. Northcote Parkinson says, “Delay is the deadliest form of denial.” Why deny yourself the things you most want by delaying necessary actions to make them happen? Here’s how the denial game goes. (Actual comments from composite clients)
Client: “I’m 67 years old, I’m too old to start a new business.”
Comment: Why deny yourself the success you can have at 67 just because you didn’t have at it 37? Don’t delay yourself out of a second chance.
Client: ” I’ve invested everything in being an attorney, and now I’m stuck in a profession I hate that stifles my dreams.”
Comment: Really? Is it either/or? Why deny yourself a dream and delay taking action because your stuck in a profession you don’t like? Believe me, the knowledge you’ve gained will come in handy in your new direction.
Client:” I’ll lose weight after I’ve taken care of all my medical appointments, after I’ve gotten a new job, after I clean the clutter out of my life, after the holidays, after my friend’s birthday…”
Comment: Why deny yourself the health, the opportunities, the enjoyment and the freedom of weight loss by delaying what must come first?
Client: “I’ve fallen in love with an older man, but I’m afraid to marry him because he’ll die so much sooner than I will.”
Comment: Why deny yourself what could be the 10 happiest years of your life because you are afraid of the future. You could delay yourself into a loveless present.
Note: The last example was me and I have shared 22, and still counting, of the happiest years of my life with that wonderful older man.
The secret to the BLOCKED TO BLOCKBUSTER process is to set an intention, define what you feel is blocking you and then create a strategy or plan to bust the block and achieve your intention. Life is a series of choices from the time you wake up in the morning. The first choice is to choose to be happy. That’s a wonderful way to set in motion a day’s worth of rewarding, conscious decisions.
Don’t delay like Scarlett O’Hara and “think about it tomorrow.” Take action now. Make those choices now.
When I read THE SECRET, I had a problem with the book. I love the intention of the book, but I feel that visualizing and concentrating on what you want is not enough to make it happen. I do not feel the book stressed enough the importance of ACTIONS. Don’t delay by hoping and dreaming. Take action now to get what you want out of life.
Our country is in a horrible state of delay and denial over healthcare. Torn down the middle, one side of our country got what it wanted with the healthcare bill and one side of our country didn’t. That side is hoping to delay progress until the midterm elections and then deny that the bill ever happened by initiating repeal.
I know this is going to sound terribly naive, but whatever happened to the moderate middle? You know, all the people who live by our mother’s advice, “Everything in moderation.”
Why can’t we come together in the middle and stop denying the need, stop delaying the action and start creating the way for every American to have healthcare in a way that will be Healthy for every other part of our country? Delay and denial fueled by anger and fear is simply bad for everyone’s health and success.
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