The intriguing law of accumulation

There’s a law that governs human life that we all sort of know about yet no one ever pays attention to. I am not aware if anyone has written about it, given it a name or even actually considered it a law. If no one has, then I take credit not for discovering it, but for naming it at least. I regard it as a law because it works all the time and it definitely rules human life. It is the law of accumulation. Simply, I define it this way: Anything desirable or undesirable when left to accumulate through time will reach a point of overwhelming proportions. Sounds shallow and confusing, right? Yes, but it is definitely intriguing and moreover, its effect on our lives could be shamelessly tremendous.

The Miracle Of The Dirty Dishes

My early encounter with this law was through my mother when I was very young. Trying to impart good home habits to her children, she warned us of what she called “the miracle of the dirty dishes.” She cautioned, “If you don’t wash the dishes (plates and eating utensils) right after you eat, and you allow them to accumulate, they have the magical power of growing into a monstrous, unmanageable mountain of frustration.”

I never really heeded that golden grain of advice and realized how potent it was until I lived on my own after college. It was then that I discovered that yes, anything, including dirty laundry and garbage, when left untended or not properly disposed, miraculously grows into a terrifying heap of concern.

The Law Works Every Time

As I grew older and learned from experience, I realized that the law of accumulation works all the time with astounding sureness and predictability. In school, if you don’t do your assignments and keep up with your lessons and readings, you’ll be swamped with many subjects to cover and most likely end up cramming when exams come around. At work, when you lag behind in your to-do lists and don’t update your achievements towards your professional goals or sales quota, you’ll end up suffering undue stress trying to cope with the ire and pressure from your superiors.

Even with dieting, it’s amazing how successive bites of yummy chocolates and pastries build up to unattractive pounds on your body. Indeed, a few moments of bliss on your tongue leads to despicable, unsightly years of obesity.

In your personal relationships, if you let annoying matters and events pile up without venting your feelings and emotions, and you keep postponing that crucial heart-to-heart talk with your loved one, the time will come when you would be full and end up exploding. If you are not up-to-date with paying your bills and compulsory obligations like rent, credit payments, etc., you will soon have a stack of horrifying financial worries. Banks, pawnshops, and credit companies capitalize on this and actually make the bulk of their earnings through escalating fines, interests, and surcharges.

Accumulation and Procrastination

Accumulation has a partner which, when brought into the picture, could prove alarmingly perilous — procrastination. When one procrastinates or postpones doing things, solving problems, and acting on important matters, that thing, through time, will become insurmountable.

How do you curb procrastination?

First, realize the importance and urgency of what you are supposed to do. Make up your mind to finish it in the shortest possible time and make a commitment to do it. Focus on how good you will feel once you have it out of the way. Then, break down the task into small, manageable parts or segments. And just do it until it is finished.

Positive Accumulation

So far, I have dealt on negative accumulation, or the buildup of undesirable things. Fortunately, there is such a thing as positive accumulation, which is the growth or amassing of things that we like and are beneficial to us. If you want to be healthier and fitter, and you religiously exercise every day, you will soon achieve the health and fitness you’ve been working for. If you want to be rich, and you work, save, and invest your way to financial wealth every day, your little pile of money will soon become a huge stack. A corollary of the law of accumulation is the principle of positive subtraction. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it is a very valid concept. If you want to be lean and sexy, keep subtracting calories from your diet or lose the unwanted pounds through exercise, and the accumulated desired decrease will definitely bring you the firm, sexy, attractive body you’ve been dreaming of.

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