The possibilities are endless

[Image credit: Stuart Miles]

It’s the possibility that keeps me going, not the guarantee.
~ Nicholas Sparks

The old saying, “there are no guarantees in life except death and taxes” is a bit depressing. And true. Lately, I’ve been tempted several times to give up on my dreams for Someday, thinking I may be better off abandoning Tomorrow’s long shots for Today’s status quo. After all, if there are no guarantees, it seems pointless to hang on to a vision that may never grow into fruition. Cue in Sparks’ quote here. Reading it was like an epiphany. Because it says to me that even though there is no assurance of what Someday will look like, I only need to keep the hope alive. I imagine this is accomplished by doing the things daily that advance my goals. And when I do this, much like the seedling taking root through tender loving care, the possibilities are endless. Even when there are no guarantees.

Do you need the guarantee, or is the possibility enough?

You can’t take it with you

[Image credit: Salvatore Vuono]

Spend the afternoon.  You can’t take it with you.
~ Annie Dillard

There’s an old saying about how you should spend your money, because at the end of your life, you can’t take it with you.  The same holds true with Dillard’s quote.  At noon today, this morning is gone.  The afternoon melts into the evening and the darkness of nighttime obscures the daylight.  When it’s done, it’s done.  Sometimes we figure we’ll just put off until tomorrow what we should have done today.  But what if tomorrow never comes?  Oh sure, I don’t think it matters if I skip the dusting because who cares, but what if I missed out on the chance to connect with a friend, spend quality time with my daughter, pay some goodness forward?  Those are the kinds of afternoons I believe Dillard is talking about.  Where we leave a piece of ourselves behind.  And hopefully we’ll have made a difference if tomorrow rises without us.

What does Dillard’s quote mean to you?

Title: to be determined

[Image credit: phanlop88]

Procrastination is something best put off until tomorrow.
~ Gerald Vaughan

In my post Getting where you want to go, I asked, “Are you a resolution maker or one-day-at-a-timer?”  Here’s a third choice: procrastinator.  Personally, I’m a resolution maker and a procrastinator.  I have good intentions, but if something comes up, it’s typically easier to put off whatever I had planned until a later date.  The problem with procrastination, however, is that “every duty which is bidden to wait returns with seven fresh duties at its back” (Charles Kingsley).  It happens at work when I put off a particular project, and then all of a sudden I’m being pulled in umpteen directions.  Or at home when I let one thing slide, not only do I still need to address that one thing, but the car has something wrong with it, the cat needs to see the vet or a myriad of other unexpected “duties.”  Better to start with a clean slate each day.

What’s your classic put-off-until-tomorrow task?