Do things your future self will thank you for
Because gratitude is better than regret.
Carpe diem is thrown around a lot, and I personally both hate it and love it. The actual meaning is great.
The thing is, many use it as an excuse to avoid doing hard things. Do a workout or lay on the couch? Eat something healthy or fast food? Save/invest some money or spend it all on unnecessary things immediately?
I’ll lay on the couch and eat fast food as I’m buying unnecessary things online, but hey — carpe diem, right?
This carpe diem -mentality is not just an excuse to not do something, it is also a way of trying to bring others down(in some cases). Because deep down it’s jealousy of the ones doing the things we know we should do but aren’t capable of.
One example is not drinking at a party. It’s always a big deal when there’s someone at a party who’s not drinking. That person gets interrogated the whole evening. It has to be a really good excuse for it to be accepted. The simple reasons not wanting to drink or not having a hangover the next day aren’t acceptable. You hear “don’t think about tomorrow, live in the moment!”, which in this case actually means “damn, that’s a strong person with goals — I’m jealous”. And because we often compare ourselves to others, we try to bring others down instead of doing great things ourselves. That’s much easier.
Finding the balance
Don’t get me wrong, we should absolutely live in the moment, we never know when our day will come. But that doesn’t mean ignoring the future. Because we probably want to live and enjoy the moment the same way in 10, 20, 30 years, right?
So what are the things we should do for our future selves?
The small things
These are the small things we face on a daily or weekly basis.
- Brush our teeth daily
- Eat good food (at least most of the time)
- Exercise regularly. No need to become a professional athlete, it can be as little as walking 30 minutes each day. Don’t “have time”? Walk to work (if possible) instead of taking the car. Take the steps instead of the elevator. Small things add up.
- Save/invest a small amount every month.
- Read, study, learn something new.
The list could go on forever, but you get the point. Small things we do consistently over a long period of time.
The big things
These are bigger things that will affect both our current situation, as well as our future. Things we need to think about before making a decision.
Accepting a promotion or starting a business we’ve always been dreaming of.
We would probably think that these would bring more income, at least later on. But this could mean spending more time at work and less time with our family. What will we think when we’re 90 years old? Was it worth spending all that time working, not spending as much time with our family?
We will probably never know the “right answer” before things have played out. But we need to evaluate, to the best of our abilities, how the decision will impact us. Not just think about the money, recognition, or whatever it might be.
Ending an unhealthy relationship.
Most people fear being alone, and will rather be in an unhealthy relationship. Break-ups are tough. There might be children involved. But you will thank yourself after the roughest time has passed.
Moving to a new city or country.
Whether it’s for a partner, a job, or just to start over fresh. We might leave friends and family behind, and it might be scary to move. Even so scary that we won’t do it. Again, we have to think (to the best of our abilities) about how this decision could impact our future. When we’re 90 years old and look back at our life, did we make the right or wrong decision?
The list could on forever here as well, but hopefully, you get the point.
These are things that might feel uncomfortable. There are no right or wrong answers, we just need to think “even if this doesn’t play out the way I hoped for, will I be happy I took the chance and did this when I look back at my life?”.
