The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1908-10-22
SCOTLAND NECK, N. c., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22 1893.
The Put-Off Feeling.
(Selected.)


81 purposed to write some weeks
ago." said friend, "but yielded to
the put-of feeling" No explana-
ton of what he meant by the put-off
telling was needed, for we have all
felt it. 1t is a feeling, an insidious
and powerful something which seizes
upon the mind and paralyzes energy.
But it is a highly dangerous feeling,
which weakens the will, undermines
character, and makes unhappiness.
1t grows with indulgence. A man
who puts off thing which should be
done today will find it harder to do
that thing tomorrow. Continued in
diligence will bring one to the point
when the very fact that something
must be done now will constitute a
well-nigh conclusive reason why it
should be put off. He can't do it
now, simply because it must be done
now. Certainly all his life he has
been yielding to the put-off feeling,
and now that something must be
done promptly, the same put-off feel
ing asserts it's power; all the more
because it must be done now. Some
one has defined an educated man to
be one who can bring all his energies
into play instantly at the call of
duty. Instantly! The people who
do things are those who have this in
slant command over their energies,
and on the contrary the man who
defers and yields to the feeling of
procrastination loses the power OF
prompt, incisive action. He is COM
mitting a crime against the energies
of his soul, weakening his will and
paralyzing his conscience. Waiting a
minute" spells ruin. To hear the
voice of duty and answer "tomor-
row." is to debauch the soul.
The call of business is a call of
promptness. A man of great busi-
ness in one of our Southern cities
has on his desk this motto: "Do the
hard thing first; do it well; do ii
now" Plainly he felt the need Of
something to help him ward off the
put-off feeling. He we'll knew that
to defer was to invite disaster.
The call of duty is a call to prompt
action. Men often fall below theil
ideals of duty, not because they are
lacking in moral perception, admira
ton, aspiration and intention, but
because they defer to obey with
promptness the calls of duty. Thei,
characters continually measure be
low their own standards and they
are a disappointment to theil
friends, because they do not do what
they intend to do. On the contrar,
that character is the best which ha:
a positive compelling conscience. NJ
higher tribute could be paid thar
that of Tennyson to Prince AL
bert: He Hereverenced his conscienc
as his King"
The call of God to the soul is al
, ways a call to instant, obedlent &C
ton. He says, To-day, if we vii
y hear His voice, harden not you
heart" The soul that hesitates ant
defers to obey is lost in the very &C
, of deferring. Alas, very soon he
under the dominion of the feeling
=, God calls but he has SO often put ol
- obedience until he feels that he cal
not act. And so the days pass int
j., weeks, the weeks into months, tn
j.. months into years-wasted, wlcke
vears-and then man passes ava
; from life, lost because he was el
! slaved to procrastination. He ha
! put off duty so often until 1t becan
the masterful feeling which destro
4 ed him.
,e Herbert SpenCeF'S Courage.