Do it Now, or You’ll Never Do it

As I scroll through the internet on some random night, I found it really touching when I saw this video titled “How to Make the Right Choice At the Right Time” by Zack D. Films (I know some people say their videos are quite funny, scary, mind-blowing while inserting some jokes. But whenever this video came, I found it very useful. Doom scrolling may be one of the most unproductive routines that decreases your success, but for me this time, “lucky” stands by me. The 60-second video taught me the philosophy of “Do It Now, or You’ll Never Do It”. Let me tell you a story.

Two weeks ago, I was wandering around Jakarta via MRT. It was quite relaxing, because I hadn’t met dozens of my high school friends for a while. We’re just taking some time together and talking about the future while enjoying the dazzling city. One fact that you should know if you’re a big fan of FUJIFILM, in MRT Bundaran HI, you can buy the refills of the Instax series. One thing is for sure: it is hard to search for a place that accommodates Instax refills. I see the vending machine, and for one second, I am very pleased that the staff re-filled the machine! I saw the Polaroid frame series that is so enchanting and fits my style. But I hesitate to buy it. Because, at glance, I just think “I’ll just buy this later, whenever I’m ready,” or I feel “this is too expensive for me, even though I have the money, I don’t think this would make me happy.” The question is, when will you be ready? No one knows.

So, I came back to MRT Bundaran HI for this very specific assignment: to buy the films. But I’m very excited when I see the vending machine is half empty, and of course, my favorite films have already sold out. There’s a sting crashing out of my heart, the realization of “I should have bought this earlier”.

Somehow it’s funny to think from a very accidental event, “I see this as a funky thing,” but as it turns out, it becomes very philosophical. Buying a Polaroid could be something really philosophical, huh?

You would not know when, nor the vending machine will be ready, would ever “fulfill your expectations”. You will never know, whenever someone buys the Polaroid you’ve been dreaming of for months. And, as time goes on, someone takes out the opportunity you’ve been dreaming of, maybe for the entirety of your life. This realization hits me. It punched me right into my soul.

Same as the 60 seconds Youtube short video. Whenever you walk into a path, you can’t ever turn back and fix all of your mistakes; life actually abandons you to move backwards; it only pushes you into the front. Life gives you a chance, would you pick this opportunity (as in the video, the wheat) at this time, or you just walk away and what came into your mind is only “Maybe in the future I’ll find the most suitable for me”? But time won’t go backwards, and if you don’t do it now, you only feel regret, and you’ll never do it.

At the simplest thing, in the middle of Jakarta, I finally learned my lessons.