If we were driving a car, then we suddenly became aware that we were heading straight towards a tree, if we didn’t do anything about it we’d probably end up in a right mess.
But in life, a lot of us have a tendency to become aware that we’re not happy or fulfilled in what we’re doing, yet we continue to carry on coasting in the same direction without course correcting.
Yes it has a lot to do with pleasure/pain motivation (In other words if it’s not painful enough then a lot of us won’t be compelled to change), but we’ll often choose to remain ignorant to the long term damage that we’re really doing to our lives by not making that change.
We choose not to pay attention to the long term “pain”, and instead we pretend to ourselves that “it isn’t that bad”.
So for example a lot of us dread Mondays, we moan about having to go to work, during the day we count down the hours until we can leave, but we never make much effort to create anything more for ourselves instead.
Deep down we’re aware that if we carry on in this direction for the rest of our lives, we’re going to waste away all of the years that we have. Yet we choose to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that it’s all OK.
We ignore the inevitable fact that one day we’re going to suddenly realized we’ve burned away a huge chunk of our lives on something meaningless that brings us no fulfillment. Then at that point, we’ll end up deeply regretting not having the awareness to see the huge inevitable “pain” of regret that was coming down the line, and do something about it before it got to that.
Why do we choose to slam head-first into the tree?
We refuse to embrace the short term “pain” of facing the problem now, and instead opt for the longer term “pain” of burning away our lives and then regretting it until the very end.
That’s like hurtling towards the tree, but instead of swerving, suffering the discomfort of an adrenaline overdose and feeling your heart in your throat… choosing to turn your head the other way and close your eyes until you slam into it.
I don’t want to put “future me” through that, when “present me” has the power to do something about it.
The thing is; we’re not the mistakes of our past. We are whatever we decide to be in this very moment. That’s all.
It’s never too late to take the leap and start working towards whatever we want to do with our lives, because every day that passes only makes the situation of not taking action even worse. The best day to start is today, because that will give us the most time to enjoy the future results of investing in ourselves.
And besides, is there any reason that “future you” doesn’t deserve the best and most fulfilling life that he/she could be living…?
It’s either start now, or die having never even tried. Sounds blunt, but that’s the reality.
“Someday” never comes, and the traffic lights will never all be green. Now is the best and only time to begin. “Future you” will thank you for it.
I’ll speak to you soon,
Dan
Dan Holloway - Founder of Scrap the 9 to 5 Ltd
SFM Elite & DEA Black Member of the SFM/DEA
