‘PRO-‘ means “a prefix of priority in space or time having especially a meaning of advancing or projecting forward or outward, and also used to indicate substitution, attached widely to stems not used as words: provision; prologue; proceed; produce; protract; procathedral; proconsul, etc.”
Uh-huh. Lawyer wrote that, right? Lemme see, here . . .
pro– “a prefix indicating favor for some party, system, idea, etc., without identity with the group, having anti- as its opposite.”
Well, alrighty, then. A real people wrote that one.
I was reading again from Philippians 4:6-9 as The Message lays it out:
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayer, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious–the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”
Ever notice how many references there are in social media relating to procrastination? Procrastinators Anonymous. Yeah. You’ve read and shared the jokes about meetings always being put off.
The real person’s definition of ‘pro’ says ‘anti-‘ is the opposite of ‘pro-‘.
Huh. Maybe. But an anticrastinator doesn’t resonate quite like . . . ready?
DUN-DUN-DUN-N-N-N . . .
The CONCRASTINATOR
Yes! HOOAH! And the fans go wi—
Hunh? What do you mean, “What does a concrastinator do?”
What does a PROcrastinator do? Think about it. I’ll wait.
Nom… good coffee, Maynard. Let’s see–six eggs scrambled with cheese, toast and jelly. Aw, yeah. Now that’s hitting the—
Un. There you are. Okay, so since ‘pro-‘ means a prefix indicating favor, in this case toward not doing something needing to be done – thus procrastinating – then what would you think a concrastinator does?
Anyone?
Yeah–over on the end in the fluorescent green shades.
Super! Say that a little louder so everyone hears it.
“Yeah, um, since procrastination is—“
Quiet, everybody. Stand up, will ya? I want the rest of you to hear this. Okay, go ahead.
“— Okay, procrastination is a positive approach to negative activity, so-o-o I’m thinking concrastination is, like, a negative approach to induce positive activity–which amounts to a negatively-charged way to reach for excellence.”
DING-DING-DING-DING-DING! Yes! You got it. Whereas a procrastinator is habitually putting off all the good, worthwhile, useful things, a concrastinator is in the habit of putting off all the WRONG, NEGATIVE, BAD, DETRIMENTAL things.
Yeah! It’s forcing even the negative junk in your life to yield positive results.
Got any more of those Dunkin’ Donuts back there? Save one for her!
Okay, here’s the deal . . . .
So both pro and con are habits–right? Habits are the result of something we repeatedly do. So here’s the action question . . .
Which habit is easier to form?
Yes–over here in the front.
“Isn’t that your daughter who said that?”
Nice deflection. Well, yeah. Not that it makes any difference, but what gave it awa—- Oh. Right. Fluorescent green thing. Sigh….
We all have our bear to cross.
All right, everyone: on your feet! Now, let’s get out there and
CONCRASTINATE!
© D. Dean Boone, May 2015