by Dr. Scott Briggs

January 27, 2022

Well it has been almost two weeks since my last post. I won’t even try to give any excuses. Here is the honest truth, I am a procrastinator. I see my procrastination as a health issue, and for me it is a big one, one I don’t want to admit.

When any project gets hard, I procrastinate. My wife, Cindy and I were talking a little over a week ago about a completely different subject (it was hanging the last few pictures in our home) and she, with a loving heart, pointed out to that she didn’t want to “nag” me any more about the pictures. She expressed how my procrastination over the pictures, and a number of other areas, made her feel as though she was not being heard which lead her to feel that other things in our lives were more important to me than she was. I want you to know there was no anger in her voice, no disappointment, no jealousy… just sadness. Her words cut like the proverbial two edged knife. In that moment I realized Cindy was not using the knife to cut me down, she was using the knife, like a surgeons scalpel, to remove or at least expose a very ugly tumor that had become so entwined with my person that I could not see it.

Thank you to my loving and caring wife for your honestly that day. It hurt then, and it still hurts a little today, but at least the pain keeps me aware of the work that needs to be done. I’m not talking about the pictures (although that will be done), I’m talking about working on this issue of procrastination that has plagued and derailed many challenges and goals in my lift.

Back to the point of this, my first post started sounding very preachy- which I don’t want to do- and as I wrote, it began to wonder all over the place. It was just a mess of rabbit trails that went no where. I stopped writing and promised myself I would get back to it when I wasn’t so tired and had more focus. Here it is.. two weeks later… and I finally realized I needed to at least for a time put that post on the shelf and just start anew. The decision to start a new post could have been made the next day but I started procrastinating and before I knew it, 8 days had passed. Then came the feelings of failure and embarrassment because I had not written which lead to more procrastination. Do you see the vicious cycle I find myself in.

I hope as you read this post you get a sense of the honesty and openness that is being expressed here as I write. I am finding that when I am honest, and completely open, when I write there is a refreshing breath of air that lifts me out of the unpleasant places I find myself because of the areas of my life that need to be improved. Having a wife and a community that is keeping me accountable is one of the greatest assets I have as I push to achieve some significant goals regarding my health and my life.

Alright, now that I have said that little piece, how is procrastination affecting my health? It may be obvious to you as readers but I need to put the words down on paper for my benefit. Let me list some of the ways I procrastinate with my health.

A year from now you will wish you would have started today.

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• First and foremost, exercise. There is always something better to do than exercise.

• Reading, I like the idea of reading to gain more knowledge and understanding about healthier lifestyles, but rarely do I complete the book or article that has the information I need.

• Proper portions when eating, I want a plate full of food. Why should I eat a 6 ounce piece of meat when there is are 12 ounces available. Get a scale out and weigh my food, that is crazy talk, who has time for that. That looks about like one ounce of cheese. How about the measuring cups. Same issue, a plate full of grapes, yep that is probably one cup of grapes.

• Here is a good one for you; I will start working on my procrastination problem tomorrow. I have this thought more often than I care to admit. UGH!!!

Here is the realization I am coming to terms with. As a self admitted procrastinator I am finding procrastination is taking over many aspects of my life. How many amazing thing could have been accomplished in my life in the past 10 years if I had not put off for tomorrow what should have been done today? I will probably never know the answer to this question but what I do know is I don’t want to be sitting at a counter 10 years from now asking myself the same question. The time is now, and now means now, not tomorrow. We are all capable of greatness if we will start today’s projects today.

Wishing you great health,

Dr. Scott

Dr. Scott Briggs is the owner of Briggs Family Chiropractic in Converse, IN. He has been a chiropractor for over 15 years. He has invited everyone to join him in his health journey for 2022. You can visit the first post on this to receive free helpful downloads. Click HERE to find that post. You can also follow us on Instagram (@briggsfamiychiropractic).