Eat that frog

Once upon a time, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog in a pond.

The frog croaked to the princess, “I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch put a spell on me. One kiss from you, and I will turn back into a prince. Then we can marry, move into the castle with my mom where you can prepare my meals, wash my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel lucky for doing so.”  

That night, the princess had frog legs for dinner.

Have you ever seen a live frog? I don’t mean the kind pinned down on a pan of agar in Biology class.

I mean the kind that is alive and full of croak - have you ever taken the time to look at it real up close? It’s so ugly isn’t it? It may even remind you of somebody you know in the work place, but that’s not the point. The point is that, according to Zig Ziglar, “If you need to wake up in the morning and eat a live frog, you wouldn’t want to look at that sucker for too long!”

That ugly live frog represents the one task you hate doing for that day. Get it done and over it by getting through it. Work on it first thing in the morning, and the rest of the day will be bright and sunny.

Procrastination happens when people see the live frog by the pond but choose to ignore it in the hope that it will simply hop away. They work on some other tasks instead, while the thought of the live frog by the pond sucks the energy and life out of them. Worse, the frog doesn’t hop away!

I have a thousand and one things to do every day. Invariably, I would come across a particular task I’m not too excited to work on. That’s my ugly frog, but believe me, I deal with it first thing. Regardless of how I feel about it, I just commit myself to doing it. Eat that live frog, and the rest of the day would be a walk in the park.

Here’s what I have realized over the years. The most important tasks I have to do each day are often the hardest and most complex. But I need to replace those “don’t-feel-like-doing-it” feelings that I know would degenerate into “why-not-just-do-it-later” urges, with “deal-with-it-right-now” attitude coupled with “give-it-my-best-shot” effort. And then I’d get to enjoy the rewards and payoffs of completing such complex tasks.

Some people manage their time. I manage my tasks. I also manage my energy. There are essential tasks I need to stick to, and then there are tasks that seem urgent but in reality are not important. Here is an interesting discovery. Most tasks seem to take the same amount of time to accomplish. But only the few essential tasks would add value to my success goals in life. Shelve these and I incur loss. Working on the non-essential tasks may give me a “feeling” of accomplishment, but at the end of the day, I’d ponder on my tired body and wonder why I exerted so much effort and did so many things, without feeling I’ve achieved much.

Rushing to go to “happy hour” is not essential. Spending time with the family for dinner is. Watching senseless reality shows is not essential. Reading books and surfing the net for latest developments related to one’s work and expertise is. Jumping from one bar to another with “friends” is not essential. Sitting down, calling or writing a friend is.

Activities and accomplishments are not the same. When you start the day set to start and finish an important task, it would motivate you and help you overcome procrastination. “One of these days” becomes “None of these days.”

God has given all of us equal amount of time in a day, but success depends on how wisely we use that time. Successful people are those who have the discipline to start on the most important task before them no matter how ugly that task seems. Just eat that live frog and don’t look at the sucker for a long time. You’ll end up accomplishing more and you’ll be happier.

Trust me. It works….now where is that frog? 

(Develop your leadership skills! Francis Kong will be the lead trainer for Dr. John Maxwell’s “Developing the Leader Within You” leadership program this June 28-29 at the EDSA Shangrila-Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6872614 or 09178511115.)