Written by Nicole Friets
I recently read a book titled One Month to Live. It posed the question: what would you do if you only had one month left to live? A million things came to mind. However, what stuck out to me was how I could have done many of those things, and yet I hadn't. There was just one thing stopping me - procrastination rooted in fear. My perfectionist nature tends to stall me, as I’m afraid to make mistakes and wrong decisions. I freeze in fear of the unknown and of making a fool of myself. I stay stuck where I am, waiting for the moment when everything lines up perfectly. But will there ever be that perfect moment?
I attended a Beatles tribute concert a few days ago that taught me to conquer my fear and seize the moment. Being a huge Beatles fan, it was obviously lovely just listening to the music and singing along. However, during one of the upbeat songs, a lady got up and started dancing. Not slow dancing, but a crazy, reckless, no-sense-of-rhythm whatsoever type of dancing. (To put things in a cultural context, Singapore, where I'm from, is not known for people getting up and dancing in public.) Soon, more people were watching her than the tribute band. The band then suggested that everyone else get up and dance. I don't know what got into me, but heck, why not? So I got up. And danced. A bunch of other people started dancing as well - couples were swaying, kids jumped up and down, old men closed their eyes and bobbed their heads. Ladies were showing off their moves (which they had obviously been practicing in the privacy of their rooms). It was so liberating. So freeing. So lovely. Point is: I could have waited until I felt ready to dance, but then the song would have passed. The lady who had first started dancing - she didn't wait.
I'm starting to learn that there is the joy in spontaneity - in living in the moment and jumping into the unknown. Instead of procrastinating and feeling fear, dread, and indecision, sometimes it's best to just go for it. There are many things I dream of doing, and I don't want to end up not doing any of them.
Don't wait until you're told you're going to die in order to really live.
Nicole is currently pursuing a degree in interdisciplinary arts at Liberty University Online. She enjoys long walks with her dog and talks along the beach, people watching aka studying, exploring new malls and gems in Singapore, watching musicals, traveling, cheering people up and puzzles of most any sort. You can follow her on littlemissnic.tumblr.com or littlemissnicnotes.wordpress.com.