On The Cusp Of Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a word used quite favorably by a lot of us in every avenue of our lives. “I’ll start studying for my exams tomorrow”. “I will make that call to my parents, tomorrow”. “I will prepare that client pitch tomorrow”. “I’ll submit my project due today, tomorrow (and spend today coming up with a fantastic excuse for doing so). “I will clean my room tomorrow”. “I will take my grandmother for that drive she’s been asking for tomorrow”. “I’m still angry for the mistakes I made and will apologize to my spouse tomorrow”. “I will stop being irritable tomorrow”. “I’ll take my calendar and replace today with tomorrow” (For some reason we never say the following things – “I’ll eat that piece of cake tomorrow”. “I’ll have my second drink tomorrow”. “I’ll wait until tomorrow to play video games”. “I’ll sleep in tomorrow”. “I’ll wait until tomorrow to post my pictures on social media to show the world how awesome I look at the party today”. “I’ll catch up with my Netflix shows tomorrow”).

Procrastination has to be one of the top human vices (I’m quite certain we’d like to call it a skill), surpassing others like our ability to be corrupt, greedy, conniving, lazy, and even Boston Red Sox fans. It’s a VIP card that we tend to use at every opportunity (And yes I mean every single opportunity that involves us doing anything that is not fun and games). In fact, the moment the world leadership declares that alien races do indeed exist (Imagine earthlings as the only inhabitants of the universe. Knowing our habits, we would have trespassed and ruined most of it by now), procrastination would have to be earth’s entry towards an intergalactic event, which would give us a galaxy-sized advantage over the others.

Despite our tendency to put things off since the dawn of day, I’m often amazed at the ease and fluency with which we procrastinate on the most pressing issues in our lives; Preparation for large client deals, competitive examinations, treatment for health ailments, spending time with an aging parent or a growing child, filing taxes, beginning our fitness regime, resolving grave issues with loved ones, proposing to our love (so that we attend her wedding as the groom and not the best man), and even fixing the hinge on our front door so that we don’t get slapped in the face every time we leave or enter home.

And then when we wake up each day, we wonder why it sucks as much as the previous one. I suppose we expect life to give us a break since we give most things a break ourselves until tomorrow arrives. Unfortunately, (or fortunately since we can push things back another day) every time we begin a new day, it’s still today and tomorrow hasn’t quite arrived. We don’t move a muscle but expect that miracles will take place and life will become more cheerful on its own accord. And when this doesn’t happen we will whip out our magic diary of excuses (Somehow we want to do this immediately and never wait for tomorrow). Who are these excuses for anyway? The world doesn’t really care about what we do with our lives. Our loved ones do, but despite their valiant efforts, they watch us painfully wither our lives away (We on the other hand still believe we have exemplary prioritizing and time management skills).

So what’s it going to take for us to realize that when we think of a ‘better tomorrow’, we really need to start acting today? What’s it going to take for us to take our preparation for life’s challenges more seriously, beginning today? What’s it going to take for us to realize that enough time has been spent leading a sedentary lifestyle? What will it take for us to pay heed to our failing health and fitness? When will we realize and accept that it’s our redundant skillset and not our environment, that is keeping us from progressing at the workplace? What’s it going to take for us to realize that our grandparents are in their twilight years and if we don’t spend time with them today, there will be no tomorrow? What’s it going to take for us to mend our relationship with our estranged brother? What would it take for us to recognize that too much time has already passed, and with that, a lot of life has passed us by?

Laziness is only a factor that comes into play when procrastinating on trivial everyday things (That still need to be done). It’s the fear of letting ourselves go in the direction that we truly desire internally that keeps us from taking action today. We are afraid of the unknown and the risks that come with testing our potential. And rather than encouraging ourselves to take a leap of faith and back ourselves, we resort to making excuses for avoiding exactly what we need to do. We overthink, which eventually leads to inaction.

Whether its gaining knowledge and implementing it, organizing our lives more effectively, or simply creating a mindset that allows us to prepare everything ‘tomorrow’ fires at us, the right time is always now (you may start in two hours, as long as it’s still today).

Home ‘Field’ Advantage

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.”

This was one of the many famous quotes by William Claude Dukenfield, better known as W.C. Fields. He was an actor, comedian, writer, and even a juggler (It wasn’t just words he was throwing around).

I came across this quote in my early twenties and couldn’t help but laugh every time I read it thereafter. He sounded like he was so disgruntled with life and his failed attempts (almost like Oliver Hardy from the ‘Laurel & Hardy’ comic series. What’s more, he even looked like Hardy without a mustache) that he wanted the whole world to follow suit, should they have similar experiences. It wasn’t until much later that I finally realized that I was actually laughing at myself for a major part of a decade. I had completely missed the point of this statement. But then again I’m not new to missing things, having missed buses, trains, questions in examinations, the wife’s perspective (the consequences are very dangerous), and even a couple of gunshots I took at my former bosses (Okay, that’s an exaggeration. They were slingshots).

How many of us go about doing things in our personal and professional lives that add absolutely no value but on the contrary lead to frustration and a lack of fulfillment? We begin to doubt ourselves, fear begins to grip our souls, and our mind becomes a playhouse for the devil. And yet, we try the same study techniques that have come up short, the same marketing and sales practice that has yielded unsatisfactory results, the same diet and exercise routines that send the weighing scale readings in the undesired direction, the same exasperating approach to getting our kids to listen, and even taking selfies, with that same pout, from the very same angle, of that same mug, a million unimpressive times (How many selfies does it take to satisfy a human being? I’m really curious to know the answer to this question just in case I decide to feature in some of them).

In my opinion, our friend, Mr. Fields, by no means meant that we should give up at the first few signs of failure. But in fact, we must prioritize our goals that are truly aligned with our hearts, our passions, and our skills, to give us the best chance at succeeding and being happy. This would make us more adaptable. The fact that we don’t succeed at something after a few tries should either tell us that either our approach needs to change, or the activity needs to change.

What would happen if you kept hitting your head against a brick wall? Yup, you got it, the owner of the wall will indeed have you arrested. On a serious note, you could counter sue since the damage is likely to occur to your head and not the wall.

How often do we keep doing something because our parents or boss say it’s the right way to do it? How often do we try to convince ourselves that we will succeed one day without changing our method or mindset? How often do we blame our circumstances for our failures because we are too proud to admit that our approach is faulty, or are too scared of the unknown to try something different? Most times we are just involved in personal and professional activities that bring no joy to us and seem to be the only options out there because we haven’t cared to give our hearts the opportunity to express our true passions.

A lot of reputed coaches and mentors say that ‘we can do anything, but we can’t do everything’. Our juggling expert, Mr. Fields would have likely said that if we must juggle a few things in life, they may as well be things that we really care about, bring us joy, and offer a sense of contentment, while still addressing our responsibilities. There isn’t a point in taking on too much if we are unlikely to do justice to any of it.

A few points to consider are:

1. Sit down (or bounce around if you fancy) and write down the things that truly make you happy, and how you would start incorporating them in your life.
2. Prioritize everything in your life in the order of importance (Then compose a song about it and sing it yourself in the shower every day)
3. Don’t let your ego prevent you from reaching your potential (See what happened to him in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2). Be humble. Humility leads to an open mind. An open mind attracts knowledge. Knowledge leads to excellence. Excellence leads to fulfillment.
4. Respect the opinions and positions of people in your life, but remember you’re one of those people, and the most important one at that (This doesn’t apply to married people, and those with kids. For you the most important person is the bartender). Respect your own thoughts, believe in your passions, and learn to say ‘no’ when you must.
5. Push yourself outside your comfort zone. Doing something that scares you brings you closer to a defining change in your life (Stand a bit closer to your neighbor’s Rottweiler, and perhaps even pull its tail to spice things up).
6. Befriend your fear – fear of failure, fear of pain, and fear of loss. These are inevitable. No matter who you are, life will find you in a dark alley at some point and knock you down. It’s up to you to get up, look life in the eye, and say “I’ll see you again around the block, and I’ll be stronger”. Will Smith talks about his sky diving experience in which he says “The point of maximum danger is the point of minimum fear”. This quote really resonates with me (However, if the parachute doesn’t open, then the point of maximum danger is the point of impact).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG-F_rRVdLc (Will Smith speaks)

So let’s stop being damn fools about wasting our lives away in oblivion. Let’s find our true calling, our home field advantage where life roots for us. A setting that will earn us the joy of living.

What are you still doing here, fooling around, reading rubbish? Don’t you have some newly defined matters to work on? Get out of here!!