We all know that we cannot stop the march of time and yet we sometimes act as if we have all the time in the world. The top 3 things that come to mind in terms of putting things off is attending reunions and visiting close relatives and old friends; getting some work or a project done; and the third is doing something for yourself.
There is always the excuse of being busy, having a scheduling conflict and even if you had the time and were available, being tired, thinking about the traffic and parking, together with not knowing how to break the ice makes us justify our situation with a mental note that you will do it next time, after all, there is always next year.
The reality of the situation is that, there may be no next time or next year, your relative or friend could be 6 feet under by then and so could you. Before you start feeling guilty about not meeting everyone and attending every single reunion or party, I am talking about people that matter to you because they have done something wonderful for you, they have been genuinely good to you or they raised you up really well. Forget about those fair weather friends who were only there during the good times and those people who threw you under the bus.
Take the time to make them feel loved and appreciated. Sometimes just seeing you and spending time with you already makes them happy. Perhaps, the situation is now reversed and you could do something for them. In that case, as long as it is legal, you should. I can only say that the regret of not having done so while you could, will eat you up alive. I am glad that I realized how important this is as I got older, and my only regret now is not having done so earlier and with more intensity.
Leaving work undone or not starting a project is not quite as irreplaceable as missing out on the opportunity to spend time with a loved one who is no longer with us. At worst, this is a missed opportunity to make money, such as missing out in investment opportunities like buying a real-estate property or a country-club share when the prices were low.
A very recent example was when Alabang Country Club bid out shares at the start of this year at 4 million pesos a share, and as of today is now doing 6.5 million, a return of 62.5 percent in less than one year. Just think of how much money you could have made if you had acted on a timely basis. Of course, the opposite could also happen when you are on the selling side. With the way real-estate properties keep on moving up, delaying a project might actually end up being in your favor.
Third but certainly not the least important is doing something for yourself. This is one item that we are all certainly guilty of. How many of you have been putting off having that check up and seeing the doctor? How many of you have been putting off going on a diet with one excuse after the other? How many of you have been putting off finishing your degree or getting your certification? How many of you have been delaying that long deserved vacation with the wife and kids?
The sad thing about delaying doing all these things for yourself is that, it could end up being too late for you. You could die from a health condition that you never take care of, your kids could have grown too old to truly appreciate the wonder of Disneyland, you could have gotten stuck in a job in you never liked and not having achieved the full potential you so richly deserved if only you had the guts to move on to a better job or started
your own business.
Will there be next year? No one can answer that question but you certainly can do something about it by making the best of this year! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!
Comments may be sent to georgechuaph@yahoo.com