Article March 16, 2015 Issue

Overcoming procrastination

Andrew Boyd

I’m a senior in high school, and this past year I have especially struggled with the idea of not having enough time and motivation to get my schoolwork and other responsibilities taken care of. It seemed I spent more time avoiding my responsibilities than I spent facing them. In most cases I ended up doing everything at the last minute.

Fortunately, I found this passage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “Wait for your reward, and ‘be not weary in well doing.’ If your endeavors are beset by fearful odds, and you receive no present reward, go not back to error, nor become a sluggard in the race” (p. 22). What this passage tells us is that we should not be reluctant or afraid to do what God guides us to do. This spoke to me because one of the reasons I was avoiding my responsibilities was because I did not see any immediate benefit in facing them; however, after reading this quote, I realized that I was becoming a “sluggard in the race,” which made me feel very uncomfortable with myself. This passage pretty much defined my experience with procrastination, and it was very helpful for me to stumble upon this when I most needed it.

Further on down that page it says, “When the smoke of battle clears away, you will discern the good you have done, and receive according to your deserving.” After reading this, I chose to make an effort to face my responsibilities head-on instead of avoiding them, and I found that not only in the long term did I feel better about myself, but in the short term also. What I enjoy about this second quote is that, while we don’t have to earn God’s impartial love, there is a direct relationship between how much good you do and how much good you see manifested in your life (according to your deserving); if we work hard to do what’s right, we are rewarded well. This comforts me.

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