Kingdom Lost for a Nail: Procrastination, Priorities and the Peril of the Elusive Tomorrow

English king,  Richard III, prepared himself to lead his army into a fray that would decide the fate of England. He orders the blacksmith to shoe his horse, a seemingly simple, mundane, yet essential task. But there’s a hiccup – the blacksmith runs short of nails.

“I can’t wait,” insists the groom, overlooking the importance of this seemingly minor detail. The blacksmith, though reluctant, complies. With a few nails short, Richard rides into battle.

Fast forward to the heat of the battle. Richard, charging at the enemy, feels his horse falter. The hastily-shod shoe has come loose. Richard tumbles to the ground, his horse flees, and he’s left defenseless on the battlefield. His last words echo hauntingly, “A horse, a horse. My kingdom for a horse!” Richard lost his kingdom, all for want of a horseshoe nail.

What if Richard had given the blacksmith time to prepare adequately? What if he hadn’t overlooked the tiny detail in the hurry of the moment? What if he’d heeded the crucial before the urgent?

And here’s the kicker: We are all King Richard in one way or another.

We procrastinate. We push things off until tomorrow, assuming that tomorrow is guaranteed. We plan to start our diet “tomorrow.” We promise ourselves we’ll study for that exam “tomorrow.” We commit to setting up that retirement account “tomorrow.”

But here’s the truth. Tomorrow is elusive. It’s a mist that appears for a moment and then vanishes, as the biblical book of James reminds us. It’s a fragile concept we take for granted until one day, it runs out, leaving us stranded on our battlefields, calling out for our proverbial horses.

Do not wait for that “tomorrow.” Do not ignore the crucial for the sake of urgency, and lose our battles, our kingdoms, for want of a nail.

Today, we can take care of our aging parents. Today, we can make amends, forgive, and express our love because life postponed is a life lost.

And remember, we don’t want our stories to end with, “for want of a nail….”