Just Do It, And Do It Now!
December 12, 2011 · 0 Comments
By: Dr. Synesio Lyra Jr.
Two qualities which always impressed me, since my youth, are personal initiative, and a sense of urgency in the performance of every duty. No one should be enslaved by either, but one profits most by acting with those two qualities in view, readily fulfilling the demands that each brings!
Since my childhood I have been positively affected by Lord Chesterfield’s practical, sane advice: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Even things which are easy to accomplish, tasks very simple to fulfill, can and should be tackled early on.
There’s no reason, nor any need for delays because the next day arrives already loaded with new opportunities, packed with fresh challenges, and overflowing with many unexpected demands placed upon us.
I have also come to appreciate ten two-letter words which convey a healthy challenge regarding personal initiative: “If it is to be, it is up to me!” We should never expect somebody else to fulfill what we ourselves can do for our personal benefit, bringing also genuine advantage to many more!
It’s true that even in attempting to do what we must, caution should always be exercised regarding its timing, and the manner in which the activity is to be tackled. Hesitancy in making and carrying out vital decisions can be a paralyzing experience that won’t lead one anywhere, except into frustration. It keeps one in what has been described as “the long road to nowhere.”
Several people are willing to respond to the challenge posed by our title above, but only in emergency situations. While that is honorable, and always imperative, human action needs not be limited only to crisis situations, but it is to be accomplished for the sake of whatever is posed before us to undertake, large or small, urgent or not!
Life’s chapters cannot be postponed; they are to be recorded through the enactment of each challenge and activity that fills each new day! Punctuality is not to be limited to our commitments to people and places, but also with respect to the execution of tasks that depend on our sense of productivity.
As children of God our non-negotiable, urgent responses, have to be towards God’s will on a variety of life’s issues. Do the will of God on matters you know, and gradually God Himself shall manifest new dimensions of that will for your maturing. In other words, you probably know what God’s will already is on certain questions and, by doing that diligently, you will learn new expansions of the same!
Ultimately, in retrospect, you shall recognize the will of God: after accomplishing a variety of things it becomes clearer to you what His will was, and what it wasn’t. More importantly, you shall also know whether or not you fulfilled it through your actions! While you breathe, just do it, and do it quickly, once you determine that your performance represents the design of God or, at least, it is something not contrary to it!
