The Two Most Dangerous Words

Awesome post, short, straight to the point and full of impact!

Pull it off or Pull out! Thanks for the reminder! :)

Procrastination?

Actually that's not true for me. I have put things off until the time was better and then done them. e.g. I put off international travel until I finished my degree. I went as soon as I finished and now, 15 years later, I have spent about 8 years living overseas. I also put off doing a couple of courses of further study until I felt financially ready. I did one 4 years ago and am now doing the Master's degree I wasn't ready for a few years ago.

From now on I am replacing Not Yet with Never. That should keep me from ever using it again for something I remotely care about. Thanks Jonathan. Short, sweet and super useful.

From now on I am replacing Not Yet with Never. That should keep me from ever using it again for something I remotely care about. Thanks Jonathan. Short, sweet and super useful.

Scott

Did I understand what you have written in this post.

Not Yet..(lol)

You made the point there..thanks...

Nice little post. I've also had an aversion to those words. When ever I hear them, I think the person is trying to say yes to be pleasing, but knows they haven't done it, and won't.

Hey Jonathan,

Short and sweet - but full of important advice. I have the habit of doing this a lot and I have started to focus on "not putting off til tomorrow what can be done today." This philosophy is important to keep in mind not just with my online business, but with all facets of my life. Thanks for the reminder!

Paul

Loved the post!

I blabbed about it and added my own thoughts on my site,

http://noiwontmakeoutwithyou.com/archives/513

I love this! It is so true! For so many years, I put off doing things "until I lose weight," while I put off losing that same weight I used as an excuse for not doing other things. Then I kind of came to this same sort of conclusion; I needed to stop putting things off. I started doing, learning and living all of those things I had been putting off, and I also started losing the weight. (I was morbidly obese, but have now lost 115.5 lbs and have only 22 more to reach a healthy weight).

Life is better now.

I like Crystal's idea of responding with “so when, then?”

Some of the things I say "not yet" to:

- I'll do some traveling, but not yet
- I'll write a book of poetry, but not yet
- I'll start biking around town rather than driving, but not yet

So when, then?
I'll do some traveling when my student loan and car payments are done. I anticipate 2-3 years.
I'll write a book of poetry when I can get off my lazy duff and do it.
I'll start biking around town after I move to my new apartment at the end of the month.

I really loved this post. It started some hiden engines in my thoughts.

Excellent post! It really makes one think. Another word to avoid is "should."

Keep up the great work here!

Stop making excusing and start to make change. Don't allow your already programmed mind state to prevent success. Don't allow fear to keep you from improving your life.

Just like a kick in the ass. Quick, straight, and effective. Needed to hear it.

This is so spot on - I know this from myself and I con myself into believing I said yes, when it truly was a no I did not dare speak out. This post urges me to be more truthful with my "no's". Otherwise these "not yet's" keep mental open loops which take up too much place in your mind that is otherwise needed. So thanks for the reminder of closing these open loops.

How does this jive with "Killing Your Goals"?

If you say you can’t you are absolutely right!If you believe you can then that is true as well.

Jonathan, This is one of your most classic articles. Short. Sweet. Extremely hard hitting. The time is now, stop putting off everything and just do it.

Draw an analogy to childhood, there was so much we HAD to do. That force of doing made us grow. Use the same strategy now.

Jonathan,

I agree totally.

It is now, or never! - and, the key is execution.

Cheers!
Utpal

Jonathan...your post made me think about two favorite movie quotes...both have to do with now or later and comfort and fulfillment.

From High Fidelity as John Cusak's character talks about his girlfriend:
***Rob: I can see now I never really committed to Laura. I always had one foot out the door, and that prevented me from doing a lot of things, like thinking about my future and... I guess it made more sense to commit to nothing, keep my options open. And that's suicide. By tiny, tiny increments. ****

I have thought of this often at critical times in my life...along with a quote from Shawshank Redemption

"Get busy living, or get busy dying."

For me that sums it up. And I know what side of the fence I want to be on...which is why I laugh so much.

Hey Jonathan,

This takes me back to my very first blog post. I wrote about waking up. One of the things that would stop me from getting up was I would say "I'll get up in half an hour". What I was really saying was "I'm not going to get up now and I may or may not get up in half an hour". You can only do stuff now, so saying "I'll do it later" doesn't mean anything. :)

Jonathan,

Great post! I'm glad I found it. Excellent straight-forward advice, especially in challenging times where it is so much easier to justify excuse making.

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to future posts...

Peter

This post makes perfect sense to me since I just graduated college and I am in my early 20s. Whenever I put something off I have to remind myself that from here on out the responsibilities will only increase, so right now is the best time to take action.

Thanks for writing this. With the not yet attitude it would be easy for a whole lifetime to slip by without actually doing much. Either this article is a wake up call, or a reminder that we are doing the right thing by striving to achieve our dreams. Cheers!

Not Yet also shows signs of being indecisive.

Say "Yes" or Say "No"... Decide and make a commitment.

Everyone should get into the habit of saying Yes more often the world would be more open and we would have less limitations...and yes there are times when you do need to say No.

Thanks for the short post.

hi,
can you tell me the reason, why people can't choose between Comfort or fulfillment?

Life Is NOW. 'Nuff Said!

hi,

nice blog, right these two words when combined is dangerous, and i often caught up with it

It kind of awakens me especially where it implies that 'I’ll put off fulfillment, for the sake of comfort'
I am out of my comfort zone to take responsibility NOW!

GREAT POST! This is SO true! You nailed this one. Thanks!!! (It's also a kick in the butt-I need to get to work..!)

It's very true, as I've experienced personally and observed around me. Same goes along the likes of 'I'll do it later' and 'Not now'.

I'm a Professional Not Yetter. Time for a career change!

So true...putting things off and making excuses is so easy to do. At some point, we have to call ourselves out and make things happen. Thanks for the reminder.

Saying, "I don't have time," is the same as saying "I don't want to."

Awesome -- and completely true!

Great post!

My mind plays tricks on me by saying, "When I have more money I will..." I recently sorted out that this was just a clever way of saying, 'No.' without actually using the word.

I didn't even know I was playing such mind tricks until recently when I started my Shiva Nata practice!

Mind is clever; it is always looking for ways to create comfort, safety, and security to the detriment of the spirit.

I love your post. I have found that when I'm living just to seek comfort, life has a way of making sure I never quite get there. Comfort for the sake of comfort - very elusive. Comfort for the self, mind you.

However, when I seek to help others, fulfillment AND comfort - a quiet satisfaction - are my rewards. Of course, then I go right back to trying to be comfortable for a while.....

Just what I needed to hear today. I'm in the middle of starting a new job and relocating so everything seems to be a candidate for "do it tomorrow" or "when I have more time" - but that can become a slippery slope. Thanks for this post - good reminder I'll have to keep focused on.

This post is awesome! I recently started finding out that all the excuses I had for putting those "not yet"s were mostly hot air. It shattered what I thought my limits were and now I have to find out what my new limits are.

Yeah, I get this a lot with blog posts. "I should write about this topic" "Not yet, I don't have a clear idea of how to say it."

I think these words can be really useful though, "Should I watch TV for the rest of the day?"
"Not yet."

It's usually the first way that I use them though. So maybe they aren't as useful as I think.

Hi Jonathan,

Interesting post! But not sure if I entirely agree that "Not Yet" is always a bad thing.

Every successful entrepreneur I have spoken to has said that the key is to focus on one project at a time.

Many newbie entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying 3 or 4 new projects at the same time, hoping that "one pays off". They lose their focus, and end up failing in all the projects.

In this case, if you have 3 or 4 projects you want to do, you have to say "Not yet" to 3 of them, and focus on one at a time.

The "Not Yet" is an acknowledgement that you only have limited time and energy in a day, and need to focus it properly.

In that case, I dont think "not yet" is a cop-out.

Interested in your thoughts!

True.

It is an excuse that I make often.

Great Post!

Sometimes the best way to take action and do things is to make arrangements so we are forced to.

Want to travel? > book a plane ticket, then you have to go!

Want to wake up early?> buy a new alarm clock and set it that early time!

Thanks for sharing!
Diggy
Upgradereality.com

I'll read this "later"... oh wait ;p

can't resist but point to the poem "The Climb" by Phyllis Trussler (just google it)

"Not yet" and "Someday" are very dangerous - they allow us to feel that we're making progress by talking about our goals, but not actually doing anything about them.

Much better would be to say "I am working on" and then choosing some small action if the idea of big steps scare or overwhelm you.

I printed the e-mail version of this post and tacked it to my Motivation Wall. Thank you, Jonathan. You always give me a dose of courage.

I'm actually Not Yet doing something I told myself I'd work on at this very moment. Either way, I'm glad I came across this post.

A friend of mine keeps asking me if I have a clearly defined direction for my blog. The answer is no! At least, not yet. Hmm. At the same time, if I waited until I had every thing in order then I never would've started it in the first place.

There are projects that have died because I took way too much time planning (in actuality procrastinating) and making excuses as to why I couldn't take action.

Ouch!! The truth DOES hurt. Thanks for reminding me and having the guts to tell it like it is!!!