Someone has very aptly and wisely said that a stitch in time saves nine. It contains an invaluable piece of sane advice, which we constantly hear from our teachers in school and elders at home. This highly useful, didactic dictate applies to every field of activity.
It implies that work done in time saves a lot of labour, later on. To illustrate it further, it can be said that suppose there is a tear in your shirt, the wisest thing is to stitch it up without any delay, otherwise there will be tears all the way down, which would require a lot more labour and time to put a patch on it. And the final effect too would not be as tidy as it would have been, if it had been stitched during the initial stage.
Again, the same principle applies as regards your lessons. If one does not study through the year and hopes to pass examinations only by studying at the last moment, much more effort and time will have to be put in at the eleventh hour and still the retention would not be as effective as it would have been, if the work was done regularly through the year.
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Yet again, a delayed action quite often causes serious misunderstanding and even loss of friendship, where replying to letters is concerned. Certainly, letter-writing is not everyone’s cup of tea, but certain tasks have to be done and it is the best if they are done without losing any time.
For instance, if one postpones replying to a friend’s or a relative’s letter, the other person might feel humiliated, thinking that one does not care for him or her enough. It would require one to make excuses and apologize again and again to pacify the person concerned. Is it not then better to reply to a letter in time, rather than come out with false excuses at the last moment?
Taking the right action at an opportunity time is even more important where friendship is concerned. A wrong action committed knowingly or unknowingly, should be apologized for immediately. The more an apology is delayed, the more distant will a friend become and one may even lose the friendship forever. And this happens when one delays making timely amends.
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And do not forget that postponement of an action can prove really risky and hazardous, where health is concerned. A neglected cold and running nose may turn into sinusitis and a severe cough problem.
An unattended boil may turn into a carbuncle which may require prolonged and costly treatment with antibiotics afterwards. May be, it may force you to remain in bed for days together, making you suffer even a financial loss.
A fever, if unattended, may weaken you and necessitate confinement in bed for a number of days. Thus, even a minor health problem has to be attended to promptly.
Postponement of any work, that you do not find pleasant, is also bad. Putting off things is also unpleasant because it robs you of your peace of the mind. There is always the nagging inner voice which keeps on reminding of the task to be done.
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It leaves you restless and churlish. And what a tremendous feeling of satisfaction and content there is, if the job is finished on time without the last-minute mad rush!
So, to say that a stitch in time saves nine is, indeed, the wisest course of action to follow. Accomplishing a task which has to be done, however unpleasant, makes you happy and contented in the end.