9 Quotes to help you Eat That Frog!

Picture Credit: Toodledo.com

Eat the frog is a common quote used these days to push complacent people towards working. Nothing gets done without work. Action is the key to results. The more the action, the better results.

But procrastination has really pulled down people. Postponing today’s task to tomorrow and then to day after tomorrow has become the new normal for everyone. Pandemic has brought in more blues for people and the situation has turned into a worst one.

Eat the frog refers to that one important task which should be done by an individual which is important for him rather than urgent. People know about the important tasks but do not wish to do anything about it.

This happens because that important task pushes us into an uncomfortable zone. Our mind is not willing to accept that and so we refuse to eat that frog.

Ideally, the frog should be eaten for breakfast because the willpower and determination is much higher in the morning. So the chances of getting the work done are far better. Also we should understand the difference between important tasks and urgent tasks.

Important tasks will help in your long term goals. 

Urgent tasks are focused towards short term goals.

For example if you want to write a book then you must make it a habit of writing at least a couple of thousand words everyday. 

This is an important task.

But if you are an amateur writer then you might avoid hitting the target of a couple of thousand words. So this would be the frog that you must eat everyday. If you are not doing it and postponing it  for future then you are definitely suffering from procrastination.

Since the advent of social media, quotes is a popular way of reading and sending messages. Different aspects of life can be understood, motivation and inspiration can be derived from these quotes.

Hence people believe in reading and sharing quotes. Sometimes one can also read the mind set of the person sending you the quotes or displaying on the status, stories etc. 

Hence I chose quotes because they have often pushed me beyond limits upscaling my performance and expectations in the past.

Every one of us  go through the quotes that we receive every morning as good morning messages. We read them once and put it at the back of the mind for the rest of the life. A good idea would be to keep a collection of it as an album and keep reading them over a period of time.

This is what I do to keep myself motivated and inspired.

Just being lazy does not relate to procrastination. It is the idea of postponing things in the future to avoid a bit of discomfort in the present.

So here is my list which helps me keep procrastination at a hand's distance away.

1. This particular quote is given by Stephen King. He has written 86 bookd in his lifetime.

Imagine the amount of work and time he has put in. According to him we cannot wait for inspiration. We need to act. Action brings inspiration. It is not the other way around.

If your desire to achieve your aims is high and real, then you should not wait for inspiration. Start taking action towards your goal. Inspiration will help you keep going on the path. 

Remove all the uncertainty that you have. Start working.

2. There are many creative visualisation pictures which you might have seen in the advertisements. Imagine one such  visual where the mosquitoes are driven away with the mosquito repellent. Similarly action destroys or drives away procrastination.

Start working. Action is the driving force which will keep your mind occupied with what has to be done next. Hence it won't let procrastination settle like dust on the windowsill.

3. This one is my favourite. Mind is a producing outlet. It produces ideas continuously. But you will have to put them into action.

Mind is not a storage vault for the ideas that are produced. The ideas have to be pushed down the assembly line to reach the final stage of a completed product.

Hence many times a good productive idea comes to your mind but you quickly forget about it.

This happens because the ideas do not stay stored in your mind for a long time. According to research after three or four seconds the idea will vanish if you do not take an action upon it.

Putting ideas into action takes time so what should be done in the meantime?

Write each idea down in a diary. all the creative thoughts should be penned down if you want to take action on it.

4. How does an artist complete a portrait?

He starts with sketching the framework or an outline. Then he gradually fills it. Similarly every project and activity has to be broken down into simple and small steps.

It is easier to take one step at a time rather than jumping two or three steps together.

Breaking down the idea into small steps helps to see the goal as achievable. 

5. Procrastination and overthinking are best friends. These two companions hate the company of action.

Imagine you plan to start something new. Thoughts proceed action. 

If they are positive and constructive, you will start acting and producing results

If you are not confident that these thoughts can be converted into fruitful output, then the thoughts will keep you in the procrastination mode.

The idea of a project is exciting. But when you think too much about it the same idea turns into a dull and boring monster which tries to scare you away from action by making the task look extremely difficult for you to handle.

Hence procrastination will easily make the easiest task look extremely difficult.

6. This particular quote is my favourite. Fear is the main villain or the reason behind most people who consider themselves as unsuccessful.

Fear, hesitation and people's opinion do not let you move ahead. Fear creates an illusion in your mind which does not let you step out of your comfort zone.

Fear cripples you.

Fear holds you back.

Fear paralyzes you into inaction.

Fear pushes you to think negative thoughts.

Fear clips your wings.

Fear cuts down your motivation levels to zero.

Don't let fear grip you and strangle you.

Allow action to strangle your fear instead.

7. All of us use credit cards and we know its repayment cost.

While on a purchasing spree we do not realise the cost. And while paying the bill we sweat.

Procrastination works on the same principle. If you do not act properly at the proper time you have to pay a heavy cost later on.

8. As I said earlier procrastination creates an illusion. Hence we keep postponing our tasks to tomorrow. We feel that tomorrow would be a beautiful day but unfortunately that tomorrow never comes.

9. This quote hits the nail on its head. Look back in the past one year. Think about all the new year resolutions that you have taken and they were forgotten within a few days time.

Drop everything and start working on whatever you think is important in your life.

Don’t go after urgent tasks. Focus on important tasks which are for long term.

Procrastination is the enemy of action and success 

Keep such quotes handy.  Whenever you feel you are bogged by inaction you can read them.

Fuel yourself with action and motivation will follow.