Your present self can’t really count on your future self.
We can have many versions of ourselves. However, it’s the three selves: your past self, our present self and our future self, we dance with most often.
Counting on your future self is a risky game plan and the results can be rather inconsistent. We all have had the experience of needing to get one more thing completed and having the thought… “I can get up early and finish this tomorrow morning or after I go out to dinner”.
The issue with this thinking is that you don’t know a few things about your future circumstances.
- You don’t know what state of mind you will be in.
- You don’t know if you will feel well.
- You don’t know if an emergency will present itself that will be more pressing than what you need to do.
- You don’t know if you will have internet service.
- You don’t know if your plane will be canceled.
- You don’t know if your kid is going to need something.
I could go on. What’s my point?
Here is what you do know. You know how you feel right now. You know your circumstances right now.
So the next time the thought crosses your mind, “ah, I can do this tomorrow”.
Pause and take into account your future self is an unpredictable person to count on.
Weighing the pros and cons before making a decision to delay or to stay the course, will set-up your present self and your future self for success, at least more often than not.
Image by Dev Asangbam
