Ready or Not, The Future is Coming

People procrastinate on tasks like household chores, decluttering, getting in shape, and completing work assignments — even when deadlines are near. They delay these responsibilities because they prefer easier, more enjoyable activities, spend more time worrying than working, assume the clock hasn’t run out yet, or think they perform better under pressure. While waiting until the last minute might create an adrenaline rush, putting off cleaning the attic isn’t the same as avoiding life’s bigger challenges, where the stakes are much higher. These moments demand action because, ready or not, the future is coming.

Signature Moments of Your Life

Think about the pivotal moments in your life — furthering your education, overcoming a setback, leaving home, becoming independent, receiving your first paycheck, experiencing love and heartbreak, getting married, discovering your passion, choosing a career, raising a child, hitting rock bottom, preparing for retirement, facing a serious illness or injury, grieving a loved one, or passing on your legacy.

Do you let life happen, or do you take deliberate action to shape your future? For example, you can’t wait until you’re 50 to start saving for retirement; the secret to building wealth lies in the power of compound interest, which rewards saving early. Similarly, you can’t teach independence to a child just before they leave home; real self-sufficiency is built gradually through trial and error when the stakes are lower.

The challenge is that by the time you realize the importance of these moments, it’s often too late to make up for lost time. As six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee said, “It’s better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret.”

Seize the Moment

The best approach is to follow Thomas Jefferson’s advice, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Here are some actions worth taking now, rather than putting off:

Define what truly matters most to you.
Nourish your mind as well as your body.
Build and maintain a strong social network.
Teach your kids independence, rather than just providing for them.
Confront your problems rather than avoiding them.
Prioritize your health and well-being.
Instill your values in your kids.
Spend time with those you care about.
Save for a rainy day.
Live your life the way you want to be remembered.

These tasks don’t have deadlines, and no one will push you to complete them. But if you don’t prioritize them, you risk leaving your future to chance and might look back one day with regret, thinking, “I should have…when I could have.”

As with most things in life, you face a choice: Act proactively and shape your future on your own terms or wait until challenges force you to react under pressure. Ask yourself: Am I shaping my future with passion, courage, and wisdom or merely postponing the inevitable? As the renowned author Napoleon Hill said, “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” Ready or not, the future is coming.