Alternate Perceptions Magazine, April 2025
Stop Snoozing On Life
By Stan Prachniak
Are there things in life that you are, or have been, putting off—snoozing on? What is stopping you from taking action? If you are like a lot of people who have trouble following through on goals, you can choose to make a change. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it can certainly be done. Instead of hitting the “snooze” button on your goals, choose to take the first step. Stop coming up with reasons why something can’t be done or isn’t going to work, and start considering the ways that it can. Commit to starting the journey and then follow through with that commitment. If you have a habit of telling yourself all of the reasons why you can’t do something, you have to start challenging those beliefs. Learn to focus on the things that you can control—actions you can take. When you do this, you begin making things happen for you instead of feeling like things are happening to you.
Each morning when your alarm goes off, do you get up or do you hit snooze? Many people have trouble getting out of bed and facing the day. This can be for any number of reasons, but the underlying belief is that it is easier and more pleasurable to stay in bed a little longer. It’s true that staying in bed might feel better than immediately getting out of bed when your alarm goes off. But, what if you started getting out of bed right when your alarm goes off? Could this simple act make your life easier or more pleasurable? I think so. If you commit to getting up on time every day instead of snoozing, you will give yourself an hour or more of “extra” time each week. When you hit snooze each morning you simply delay life, lose time, and open the door for stress to creep into your day.
If you enjoy something as simple as drinking coffee, think of getting out of bed on time as a way to drink your coffee sooner. You will create a more pleasurable experience for yourself because you won’t feel like you are rushing to get out the door. When you begin taking action, you take control of your morning routine. Once you form a habit of getting when your alarm goes off instead of staying in bed, you will provide yourself with opportunities to do things you feel like you just don’t have time for right now. You will have time to spend with your family, walk your dog, read that book you’ve been wanting to read, enjoying a hobby, or any number of other things you believe you can’t squeeze into your life. Ten to twenty minutes each morning might not seem like a lot of time, but it adds up.
I think it’s important to mention here that “snoozing” doesn’t just apply to sleeping in. It can apply to almost anything you can think of that you are delaying taking action on for one reason or another. Hitting snooze on a goal or task leads to negative thoughts—the belief that something can’t be done. You begin to avoid certain things because they are aversive to you. In situations like these, you have to challenge your thoughts or beliefs. Taking action by choosing to identify and address whatever is causing you to “hit snooze,” allows you to begin changing your mindset. When you challenge your beliefs, you are finding ways to gain control of a situation that you may have felt was out of your control—you are creating a positive path to achieving a goal or completing a task.
Freedom To Change offers a way for you to stop snoozing on life by learning to control what you can, take action, and make things happen for you rather than feeling like things are happening to you. For more information on the Freedom2Change materials, visit www.freedom2change.org.
