One of the great sources of anxiety as we age is that we will never get a chance to do that thing we always wanted to do, or to finish that project we were working on years ago, or to mend the fences that may have fallen into disrepair as our relationships evolved.
Don't wait until the end of your life to figure out what you wished you had done. Think of those things now and do them.
Students often will procrastinate. Assign them a paper, with two months to do it, and many will literally wait until the last day, cramming through their readings, making notes, and then charging through the writing. Not a moment of this process is enjoyed. It is a manic effort, with little concern for quality. Students who write their papers in a timely fashion, anticipate what needs to be done, and do the work in an orderly process never feel out of control, and can even enjoy themselves.
We live life like a student writing a paper—either as the procrastinator or the planner. The procrastinator feels out of control, and each passing year is a source of desperation. The plannerfinishes what needs to be done, and treats each passing year as a sign of accomplishment.
Research on senior citizens finds that those who are most comfortable with their own mortality do not ignore the matter, but prepare themselves for it.
Oates 1997
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