Stop "tomorrowing" yourself to the end of your life.

Last updated November, 2018.

note: we link to our free guide to mindfulness and meditation at the bottom of the page (no email required).

Are you depending on your future self to save you?

It won't. It can't. Why?

Because your future self doesn't exist. And, it never will - it's an illusion. 

The only thing that exists is you in the present moment. And, the present moment is the only time you can actually do anything.

We all fall into this trap - we think tomorrow we will be the person we always wanted to be. We think tomorrow we will do the things we need to do: 

• Treat our friends and family better;
• Be more compassionate towards others;
• Put more effort into our jobs;
• Exercise and eat right;
• Talk to that girl or guy;
• Start the business we dreamed about;
• And on and on and on.

We refer to this process as tomorrowing yourself to the end of your life.

NOW IS THE ONLY MOMENT YOU CAN LIVE.

This sounds like a motivational platitude, right? 

The reality is, it's the most basic truth you can encounter:

• It is always now - when you think about yesterday or tomorrow, you do it now.
• When the tomorrow you are thinking about arrives, it will be now. 
• The only time you can take action in regard to anything in your life is (you guessed it!) now.

But, our minds use tomorrow as an escape from today. The present moment turns into a stepping stone to some future time when you'll finally do what you need to do, have what you need to have, and be who you want to be. 

The mind does this so often that we become disconnected from "now," which means we don't take action in the only time we actually can (a condition known as procrastinating). And, if you don't take action in the present moment, you'll be in a constant state of anxiety (also known as the effects of procrastinating). 

Your mind perpetuates this cycle. It tells you that happiness, success, and fulfillment lie at some point down the road. When you reach that point, however, you always find your mind has pushed it farther down the road.

You are being led around like a donkey following a carrot that is just out of reach.

"BUT" - OBJECTIONS AND EXCUSES.

Many people argue that being present means you can't plan or have goals. But these people confuse planning with dwelling and ruminating. 

Plan. Take action. Evaluate and adjust. And, do it all mindfully in the only time you can do it - now. That's different than getting wrapped up in mental drama about projected outcomes, and if/when scenarios about things happening or not happening. 

When it comes to dwelling and ruminating, there is another important factor to note: it uses your finite time and energy, which could otherwise be allocated to executing your plans more effectively.

You've probably heard a version of the saying "The journey is the destination." This implies that your attention and focus should be on the present moment, not on some future point that promises happiness.

You can’t make your happiness reliant on something you need to do, change, or acquire, because there will always be something you need to do, change, or acquire. 

Instead, learn to be happy now. If you have a plan or goal and achieve it, be happy. If you have a plan or goal and don’t achieve it, still be happy because you put forth your best efforts.

The question that's usually asked is "How do you live in the present moment?" But, this is the wrong question to ask. It should be "How do I keep my mind from pulling me out of the present moment?" 

The answer is simple: you strengthen awareness of your compulsive mind and the non-stop mental noise it produces. You learn to notice it all without getting caught up in it. When you see that your mind is pulling you away from "now," return your attention to the present moment. 

Do it over and over and over again. It takes practice, because you are reversing a lifetime of conditioning. With practice, however, you'll get better at it.

And, as you get better at it, you realize that happiness isn't over the horizon. It's right here and now.

Stop dealing with the symptoms.

Stress, anxiety, self-confidence issues, the inability to stop bad habits, problems with sleep and focus, and on and on and on.

These and the other things we struggle with every day are only symptoms.

The good news is, they all share the same root cause. The bad news is, if you don't address that root cause, the symptoms will keep coming back no matter what you do.

That's why we wrote "An owner's guide to the mind." For almost 20 years, people have been using it to address the root cause of their daily struggles.

Click here to view the contents and learn more.