I live in an area under Table Mountain, where the streets are lined with beautiful old trees, mostly oaks. These trees are not indigenous and need a slightly colder climate to flourish. Also, a borer beetle infestation has caused many of these trees to slowly die. The unusually high winds recently have caused these damaged trees to topple or have ripped branches off, damaging property and vehicles.
Suddenly, everyone is talking about the dying trees. However, we have known about the borer beetle infestation for years. We have seen what damage it caused elsewhere in the country. We have noticed the first signs of the trees struggling. We have known that winter storms are getting more severe.
Yet very little was done about the impending problem, neither by property owners nor the council. Now that the danger is imminent, everyone is jumping into action. The sound of wood saws has become the background music in my house.
It made me think about the way we perceive future events, even those that are guaranteed, like death or retirement.
The further away the event is, the less real it feels. Retirement in 30 years doesn’t feel urgent. We discount the benefit of saving to afford a comfortable retirement or putting together a file for those who need to tie up our affairs after our death.
Sometimes, the length of time to the event is not the issue. I’ve encountered terminally ill clients who could not face planning for their death. So, they did nothing.
When I had to cut down an oak tree in our Johannesburg garden, I procrastinated because it was too painful. The tree held so many memories of my kids playing around and in it. I couldn’t face it.
Sometimes procrastinating on important decisions, like succession planning in a business, can be traced to avoiding difficult emotions, but sometimes it’s just that the urgency of the here-and-now overrides the importance of a potential future event.
Understanding why we avoid, procrastinate, or stay frozen is a start. Whatever the reasons, we procrastinate about planning and preparing for our futures, but we must still overcome the inertia. We must trick ourselves into action.
One of the benefits our clients derive from their relationship with us is that we help them face these unavoidable future events, plan for them, and hold them accountable to their own intentions.
As much as we try to help, some things simply can’t be outsourced. I really hate admin, so I’m one of those who need help moving forward. I know it helps me get stuff done when I have company, someone who will sit with me while I’m sorting through old files. It helps me when I schedule time in my diary, not just keep things on my to-do list. It helps me when I bribe myself with a reward or just go to a nice coffee shop to focus on the task.
These trees have reminded me of my outstanding tasks, some urgent and important. Tonight I have a date with myself in front of the fire to tackle them.
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Kind regards,
Sunél
