Hellooo! Today I wanted to talk about how we view the past, the present, and the future.
Because obviously the past, the present and the future are very relevant.
The past, the present and the future consume our minds. probably 95% of the time.
I mean, there's not much else to think about, right?
I've had unhealthy and healthy relationships. with these three time periods, if you will. throughout my life.
And I can almost guarantee that you have too.
And so today I wanted to talk about what I think healthy perceptions are. of these time periods and what unhealthy perceptions of these time periods are.
Because we constantly think about these time periods, it's easy to become obsessed with them in a way to become obsessed with the past or the present or the future. in a way that's imbalanced, I would say and unhealthy.
So today we're going to be talking about the unhealthy ways and the healthy ways. to see each one of these time periods.
So let's get into it. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace.
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Let's start with the past. unhealthy ways to think about the past.
I think number one and one of the ones I most struggle with is feeling intense guilt and shame for past actions, even if what you did in the past wasn't that bad.
And even if nobody remembers and even if nobody knows, You know, it's in your brain, it's in your memory.
And as you go through life, and you grow up and your moral compass becomes stronger and you become more a better person in your conscience becomes stronger, you're going to look back at shit that you did in the past and be like, Oh my God, like,
That was not okay. Why did I do that? Like, why did I steal $5 from my friend's backpack because I wanted to go buy a Snickers bar.
Why did I not invite that girl to my birthday party just because I was jealous that she had a cuter outfit. than me at school.
Like you look back at things that you did in the past that don't align with you morally now. and you feel regret and shame, and you can almost feel bad about yourself. in the current moment for stuff that you did in the past.
Even if you would never do that now And that is not who you are now.
And you did those things that you don't, approve of when you were younger, you know, and you were maybe even a child.
It can feel very overwhelming at times when you're obsessing over everything that you've ever done in your whole life and basing your current identity on it, it can become overwhelming. and it can make you feel confused about who you are.
Because instead of looking at who you are right now in this present moment, you're looking at.
Everything that you've ever done in trying to form an identity out of that.
And that's virtually impossible, okay? That is impossible.
And that also... discounts all of the learning that you've done over the years.
Your past actions don't define you as long as you learned from your mistakes.
If you didn't learn from your mistakes and you continue to make the same mistakes in this current moment, then yeah, that is a part of your identity.
We'll see you next time. beat up some kid because you wanted to take their lunch money.
And then afterwards you felt so guilty you couldn't handle yourself and you never did it again and you became a better person from it. then that's not really your identity anymore.
So I think in this way, obsessing over the past can be unhealthy.
Attaching every behavior you've ever had to your current identity.
You know, our identities are constantly evolving.
And we have to hold ourselves accountable for things that we've done in the past that aren't good, right?
But we also have to move forward at some point.
There's not one human being on the planet who hasn't done something kind of fucked up, you know? stolen something, hurt someone's feelings.
Like we're human. That's how we learn how to be good people messing up. hurting somebody in some way, hurting ourselves in some way.
And then feeling the repercussions of that feeling the pain that comes with that is what Forms us into good people.
The guilt that you feel and the shame that you feel after you make a mistake is is what makes you never want to do it again.
It builds your moral compass. Another unhealthy way to obsess over the past. is to feel like you've wasted your time.
And I struggle with this so much because It's so easy to reflect on your past and say, if I would have done this or if I would have done that, then I would be further in my career.
I would be a committed relationship. I would have more friends.
I would have more fond memories I would have this I would have that and It's so easy to reflect on the past and say, if I would have changed this, this and that, then. my current present moment would be better.
But the problem with this is, is that you cannot change the past it's fucking done it's done there's nothing you can do And obsessing over what could have been gets you absolutely nowhere.
Okay, it gets you nowhere. Instead of looking in the past and saying, oh, I should have done this, oh, I should have done that, oh, I should have done this.
Refocus on the present moment and say, Well, why don't I do that right now?
I almost feel like obsessing over what could have been in the past is a coping mechanism and almost a distraction from just doing it now in the present moment. it's almost an excuse to not make the most of the present moment.
Do you see what I'm saying? Because wishing you would have put more effort into a certain area.
In the past takes little to no effort to look into the past and say, oh, I should have done that.
You can do that while you're sitting on your couch and thinking.
It's low effort. But getting up and going and making the change that you want to make, whatever that may be, make more friends, work harder on a hobby or on your job or at school.
Or starting to go on more dates so that you can find a committed relationship.
Like whatever it may be. Getting up and actually going and doing that in the present moment takes so much more effort than dwelling in the past.
Now don't get me wrong, sometimes dwelling on the past and wishing that you would have done more with your time can motivate you to change your life in some way that's incredibly positive and amazing.
But if you... obsess over the past and then don't let it motivate you to go and take action in the present moment and then it's useless.
And you're just making the problem worse.
The problem of wasting your time, there's no bigger waste of time than just dwelling on the past. because it doesn't do anything it doesn't change anything And it's only a good thing if it motivates you to go and work on something, right?
Another negative way to look at the past is to feel like you peaked.
And that you'll never quite reach the same level of success or happiness again.
An example that comes to mind is Uncle Rico in the movie Napoleon Dynamite.
Okay, if you haven't seen the movie, I'll explain his persona to you.
Okay. He's like this 40, 50 year old dude. who's just obsessed with who he was in high school.
Okay. He was on the football team. They almost won the playoffs.
But then one little thing happened and they lost the playoff game.
And ever since then, he's just been relishing on those moments of when he was on the football team. obsessing on what could have been, but yet, even though it didn't go the way he wanted it to go, It was still the peak of his life, you know, being on the football team in high school.
That was his peak. And he's obsessed with it because he's like, I'm never going to peak like that again.
He truly believes that that was it for him.
And so he's trying in the movie, he even tries to buy a time machine online. so that he could go back and win the playoff game and fully relive that moment. and hopefully win you know win the playoff game okay whatever he's obsessed with the past Even though in that scenario, the pass didn't actually go the way he wanted it to go.
They lost the playoff game. He wanted to win the playoff game, whatever. it was still his peak in his mind right he wants to go back there he wants to do it all over again The truth is you can have had a really, really special moment in your life in the past. a moment when everything was going well for you, whatever that means for you personally. that doesn't mean that you can't have another really high point like that again.
I would argue if you believe that you peaked, then you peaked and you'll never change. have another moment of, bliss like that again, right?
There are moments throughout our lives that are memorably great the moments that come to mind when somebody says what was the best time of your life and you have an answer Although if somebody were to ask me that, I don't know what my answer would be.
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I have that, but I mean, I would say probably 50% of us have that, right?
I probably have that. I would have to think about it for a minute, but I'd probably have that too.
I think we all have that. that moment or those few moments that felt like a peak for us, right?
If you believe that you won't have another peak, then you won't ever have another peak. because I would argue that A peak in life is determined by how we perceive that moment.
Do you see what I'm saying? Like, it's up to us what peaking is in our own life.
A lot of our reality is dictated by our perception of the world around us.
And so if we, say to ourselves, I peaked and I'm never going to peak again, then you might have another moment. in life that's incredible.
You might have another chapter of your life that's incredible. but because you believe that you already peaked you won't perceive this other incredible moment as a peak because you almost have a mental block in that way.
A peek. has no actual definition necessarily.
It doesn't look any specific type of way.
It's very fluid and it's also in our imagination to a certain extent.
So you have to believe that you could have another moment like that. in order to feel a moment like that again.
Like you have to believe it could happen.
Another unhealthy way to look at the past would be to actually not look at the past at all, okay? to completely shut it out of your memory.
Anytime you have any sort of recollection of the past.
You just shut your mind down. And you refuse to go there.
You refuse to look there. Now, the problem is, unless... you allow yourself to look back at the past.
There's a lot, that can't be healed. You can't leave your past wounds unexamined.
I think of challenging moments in my past as like open wounds and it's up to me to go back and look back at the past Things that happened to me that traumatized me, upset me, hurt me, broke me, whatever it may be.
And to give myself stitches or to put a Band-Aid on it or to put ointment on it, you know, like metaphorical ointment.
Okay. I think of it as an open wound. And If you don't go back and apply some ointment, put a little bandaid on it, put some stitches in it. then it will just remain an open wound that never heals.
And this is something that a lot of therapists will tell you. as well it's important to look back at the past It helps you understand why you behave the way that you do. why you think the way that you do, why... you know you are anxious about certain things why certain things trigger depression in you why things It helps you understand yourself in so many ways.
And so I think if you completely ignore it, then you end up living with a lot of unnecessary pain and discomfort.
It is really painful to look at the past and to address the wounds that you have. it's a pain that you need to feel so that you can eventually no longer feel the pain really at all anymore.
I mean, don't get me wrong. you'll always have a scar there.
This is really heavy metaphor. We're doing heavy metaphors right now.
You'll always have a scar there, but. it won't hurt as bad, right?
And you'll be familiar with that scar. You'll know, oh, I need to put some Aquaphor on this scar because Sometimes the scar gets kind of dry and uncomfortable, and so I need to put some Aquaphor on it.
But you become familiar with this wound.
It's not foreign to you. You've addressed it.
You're familiar with it. You know how to treat it better.
Right? I need to also mention though that this is a process.
It's not something that happens overnight.
Looking into your past and addressing open wounds... takes your whole entire life.
You never have no wounds. At any given moment, you probably have an open wound somewhere in your past. something that bothers you something that hurts you something that traumatized you something that you haven't addressed yet There's almost always something there.
It's an ongoing journey. You're constantly having to... address these things when you feel like you're ready for it and you're constantly having to upkeep it, right?
And sometimes there'll be something that you try to reflect on and you can't do it.
And you're like, right now is not the time.
I don't have the energy to do this. But maybe three months later, you do have the energy.
And so you go and you address that wound and you're like, okay, I don't have the energy to put stitches into this wound right now.
But I have enough energy to put a little bit of ointment in a band-aid, which is not fully going to heal it, but is like halfway there.
And then three months later, you address it again and you sew it up and you put stitches in it.
You see what I'm saying? It's a process.
It takes time. You absolutely have to respect your own boundaries. address these sorts of wounds when you feel like you have the energy to do so.
But you also have to have a little bit of discipline with yourself and say, okay, you know what?
I don't want to address these issues, but also I know that I have enough energy to do it.
I just don't wanna do it. I don't wanna journal about this.
I don't wanna talk to a therapist about this.
I don't wanna talk to a trusted friend or family member about this.
I have the energy, but I don't have the motivation to do this.
You have to balance that. discipline with also self-respect and patience.
Let's change our tone here for a second.
Let's talk about some positive ways. to think about the past because as much as there's unhealthy ways to think about it, there are also some very healthy ways to think about it.
Number one would be nostalgia. You know, there's nothing wrong with looking at the past and smiling at it.
There's a difference between looking at the past and Just. enjoying those memories for what they are and just letting it bring a smile to your face.
There's a difference between that. and looking at the past and saying, I peaked.
It's all downhill from here. It's only getting worse.
It's like that's different. There's a fine line between nostalgia and feeling like you peaked, but nostalgia is healthy. telling stories and letting yourself return to those comforting moments that that you had in the past is such a beautiful and joyous thing.
I mean, it's just the best. It's so fun, you know?
And so I think nostalgia is just something that we should allow ourselves to do, you know?
I don't think that we should never look back at the past and say, Only moving forward, only moving forward.
I'm too busy to be nostalgic because I'm too busy grinding right now. in the present moment, fuck the past.
I've known some people like that that are like, I don't even think about the past because I'm just, I'm only, only looking forward it's like no let yourself enjoy a little bit of everything you know what I'm saying there's a healthy way to be nostalgic and you don't always have to have your eyes completely looking forward.
Another healthy way to look at the past is to kind of face the things that you did that you don't now approve of head on.
Instead of refusing to look at past actions that make you cringe or make you feel bad, address them head on.
And try to figure out a way to forgive yourself.
And accept that these things happened and accept the fact that you learned from them.
And maybe you can even laugh about it. Maybe you can even laugh about it.
But I think coming to terms with things in your past that you're not proud of. just gives you so much peace.
Another healthy way to think about it is to look back at past successes And think of it as a reminder that you can succeed again, instead of looking at a past.
Success. and comparing your current self to your past self and saying, I don't know if I'm ever gonna be able to do that again.
I wish I could go back to that time when I was succeeding at this certain thing.
Instead, look at it as, wait a minute, I succeeded... once before because I worked hard and I dedicated myself to something and I did it.
So I can actually probably do it again. if I put that same amount of energy and attention to whatever I want to succeed at now. instead of being intimidated by your past self, look at it as, hey that was still me and I can probably do it again on the other hand with your past failures Instead of feeling like, ugh, I'm such a loser.
I failed that one time or I failed all of those different times.
I'm probably just going to continue failing for the rest of my life.
Look at those past failures as I'm just gonna work harder next time.
I'm just gonna dedicate myself harder next time.
This doesn't mean I'm ruined forever and that I'll never succeed at anything.
This just means that those other attempts didn't work.
And I need to approach things differently next time.
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Next, let's talk about the present. Okay, the present moment that we're living in right now. starting out with the unhealthy ways to view the present moment.
I think it can be very easy to get too wrapped up in the small mundane issues in day-to-day life.
It's so easy to blow current situations out of proportion because they're current, you know? things in the present moment feel a lot more important in the present moment than they do usually in retrospect.
A good example would be, let's say you're throwing a birthday party.
Right. And let's say you're somebody who's really into birthday parties, like it is the best time of the year for you.
You love your birthday party. It's a big deal.
You want it to be perfect. Blah, blah, blah, blah.
An example of getting too wrapped up in the small mundane issues of day-to-day life would be finding out that They're completely sold out of purple balloons.
And you have this vision that the whole... birthday party venue would be filled with purple balloons because purple is your favorite color and it represents your aura you know it purple is just your color but you find out that they're sold out of purple balloons all across the country.
They have a shortage of purple balloons, and you can't get purple balloons, and now you're Your birthday party is fucking ruined because you don't have purple balloons and you cry and you scream and you're so pissed off because Because all you wanted was purple balloons.
And it feels like the biggest deal in the world to you because it's current.
That's an example of getting too wrapped up in the small mundane issues of day-to-day life.
And that makes you miserable because when you're too emotionally invested, in every single little thing that's going on in the present moment.
You become unable to go with the flow. And you're forgetting that it's just not that deep.
Most of the things that we get all freaked out about on a daily basis. in regards to the current present moment are not that big of a deal, but they feel like a big deal because they're current.
And so I think if you can step back and look at the bigger picture, You know, am I going to care about this in a month?
Am I going to care about this in a year?
Is this even a big deal right now? Stepping back and being less obsessed about everything going perfectly in the present moment can just give you so much peace.
Another unhealthy thought process that you can experience in the present moment is feeling like, Every present moment needs to be utilized properly and perfectly.
Feeling like every present moment, every waking moment needs to be productive.
And as a result of that feeling, forcing yourself to work too hard and beyond your limit.
Because you're just obsessed with utilizing. the present moment properly.
The truth is not every present moment is going to be utilized in a productive way.
There are going to be days that you have where you just don't have the energy. to get things done.
There are going to be days that you spend on the couch blissfully watching TV. in eating something that you ordered on Postmates, and it's not gonna be productive and you're gonna get nothing done and that's okay.
There are moments for me when I become too hyper focused. on the present moment and making sure I'm utilizing that time properly instead of looking at the bigger picture and remembering, Okay, I have my whole life to accomplish the things I want to accomplish.
I don't need to accomplish all of them right now.
I can spread it out. So that I have time for other things in my life. instead of obsessing over reaching a certain goal or, getting a certain amount of things done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
I try to focus less on the current moment and more on the next month. you know, look a little bit into the future and say, I can spread out this goal or this project. over the next month, year, five years.
I don't need to get everything done today.
I can have time to go and hang out with my friends or, sit on the couch for two hours and watch TV.
Or... Lay in bed all day because I'm too tired and it's the weekend and I don't want to work on the weekends.
You know what I'm saying? Being too hyper-focused on utilizing the present moment can... burn you out, exhaust you, and make you miserable.
And it can also isolate you from... people that you love.
And it can also prevent you from doing things that you just enjoy doing, like going on a hike, painting pictures, reading. romance novels for fun like i don't know what you want to what you like to do but you see what i'm saying And the last unhealthy way to think about the present is to completely ignore the reality that Tomorrow will most likely come and what you do in the present affects what happens to you tomorrow, right?
What you do in the present affects the future to a certain extent okay we can't ignore that and if you look at the present moment too intently and you don't consider the future at all, that's an unhealthy way to view the present to think of it like the present is all we have like tomorrow and Who knows?
Who knows about tomorrow? I don't give a fuck about tomorrow.
Tomorrow's not here yet. I'll handle tomorrow tomorrow.
Okay? being almost in denial that tomorrow's going to come and you're going to have to deal with the consequences of what you did in the present in the future.
If you're like, in denial of that truth, then there's an issue.
Because... If you're too focused on the present moment and you're not thinking about the future at all, then there's a good chance that you're going to be searching for instant gratification. rather than long-term gain.
And the thing about instant gratification is that it usually causes negative consequences down the line.
Slow, long-term Gain. provides long-term happiness.
Instant gratification causes instant happiness and long-term suffering in a lot of ways.
So an example of... ignoring the reality that tomorrow will most likely come would be to have something important tomorrow.
Maybe it's a job interview that's really important.
Maybe it's an appointment that's really important.
I don't know, maybe it's a test for school that's really important.
If you're kind of, ignoring the fact that what you do in the present moment affects your tomorrow. then you might make a bad decision the night before, the important events of tomorrow.
For example, let's say you have your job interview at 7 a.m.
If you're somebody who's too focused on the present moment and having fun and having instant gratification in the present moment. then you might get invited to a party and go out until six in the morning and then get home and be an absolute wreck. and be like, oh shit, okay, now I have to go to this job interview or I have to cancel it.
And that could sabotage your tomorrow. The choices that you make in the present impact the outcome of tomorrow.
And if you don't, See that or let yourself see that then there's a price to pay, you know Instant gratification, in the example I just gave, going to the party because you got invited and it sounded fun and you wanted to go feels good in the moment.
In the moment, you're like, Hell yes. We're going out tonight, bitches.
You know, it's going to be the best night ever.
Going to Sammy's birthday party. Fuck yeah.
We're going to have tequila shots on that.
Getting offered a shot. and taking it is fun.
It's instant gratification because it's like me and my friends all taking shots together.
Yes! We're all laughing because we're taking shots.
And then you get offered a third and a fourth instant gratification.
Yeah, why would I stop? Seeing that it's one in the morning and knowing you should go home, but staying out because you're having fun is instant gratification. not getting the job because you weren't prepared for the job interview. causes you a lot of pain and suffering because you chose instant gratification over. discipline, and long-term gain. having discipline and long-term gain would be to skip the party altogether and just go to the job interview refreshed and ready to go.
Or if I'm going to be even more generous with this example, Maybe you go out to the party.
But you don't drink or you have one drink and you go to bed by 1 a.m., you know, still a little bit late. but at least you get five hours before your job interview to sleep, you know, and you wake up and you're not hungover,
You know, you might be a little tired, but you're not hungover and you go and you nail the interview even though you're a little bit exhausted.
And you get the job. Did you maybe have to miss out on a party?
Or did you maybe have to not... experience the party to the fullest because you were thinking about Long-term gain.
Sure. But it's worth it when you get the job because you were prepared and because you were responsible and because you were disciplined.
And you didn't allow yourself to forget that there for instant gratification.
Okay, moving on. Now let's talk about the healthy ways to think about the present moment.
I think that being present is extremely important nowadays, you know, because there's a lot of distractions.
There's our phones. That's it. That's actually the only distracting thing.
That's the big issue. Not to sound like a mom.
But, you know, we know our phones are distracting us, okay?
You know our phones are wasting our time. that's not a hot take.
So I think now more than ever, Enjoying the small little special moments is so important.
Being as present as you possibly can and enjoying the present moment. is so hard, but it's so... valuable.
It's how you make memories. It's how you actually find joy on a day to day basis, you know?
Where does the most joy on a daily basis come from for me?
I would say Tiny little random things. For example, my cat crawling into my lap. when I'm having a hard time, Because I'd like to believe that my cat can sense when I'm having anxiety.
I actually think my cats, both of them. but especially one of them can tell when I'm having really bad anxiety because they'll come over to me and like sit with me.
And it's weird because I feel like they know that I'm anxious.
But anyway. you know, a little moment like that might pass me by if I'm not being present, if I'm not hyper aware of what's going on around me and I'm not tuned in to the current reality. something like that might just fly under the radar.
I just don't even pick up on it. But when I'm sort of forcing myself to be mindful and present, I notice those things and those things bring me joy. throughout the day you know a little conversation with somebody at the grocery store maybe we're both going and buying the same thing.
And I'm like, oh my God, isn't this shit so good?
And then they're like, yeah, it's the best.
I love this snack. Let's say we're buying the same snack.
And then I'm like, yeah, this snack's so good.
And they're like, I know, right? And we have a little moment together.
If I wasn't being present in the moment, then I wouldn't have noticed that they were picking the same snack as me.
And I wouldn't have said anything to them because I wouldn't have noticed.
Being present is magical because it just... by nature brings these joyful small moments.
I also think it's healthy to go with the flow a little bit. in the present moment.
If you become too obsessed With the present moment unfolding exactly how you planned.
I have my fingers in air quotes. Planned. then you can prevent great things from happening unexpectedly. obviously being present is an incredibly healthy and incredible thing.
But you can't become too obsessed with everything going as you planned. you have to kind of let go, relinquish control and appreciate the fact that every second that goes by will bring something kind of unexpected you know what i mean you don't know what's coming next And there are curveballs coming at us left and right every day, all day, every day.
And if you just go with the flow a little bit more and become less obsessed with everything going to plan, then you'll be able to enjoy the present moment much more.
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And last but not least, let's talk about the future, okay? starting with the unhealthy ways to view the future.
I think a lot of us have a tendency to build out a plan for the future that is fully fleshed out.
And the reason for that is that it gives us a sense of peace.
Having a plan for the future something to work towards.
It gives us something to fantasize about.
It gives us something to almost rely on, you know, The fact of the matter is the future is completely unknown, you know?
And that's really scary. It feels a little bit less scary if you have a plan, if you've built a perfect model of what the future looks like for you.
So that when you look into the future, you don't just see... a bunch of nothingness, you know?
You see your plan. Now, listen, I don't think that there's anything wrong with building a plan for the future.
Okay. I don't think that there's anything wrong with that, but. it can get a little bit out of control. if you start condemning anything that happens that doesn't fit perfectly into that plan. if you have such a rigid view on what the future will look like, then you will almost definitely become disappointed.
Because... As I mentioned earlier, life is throwing curve balls at you left and right, okay?
And there's a chance that the future that you're imagining right now for yourself is will not come into fruition in the exact way that you imagined.
Because you can't predict the way that things unfold.
You can make a basic outline of what you want your future to look like, but Each little nitty gritty detail, it's just not going to look the way that you think it is.
I think the key to mapping out your future sort of manifesting your future sort of building out a model of your future I think the key to it is to look at it as something that's moldable, something that's able to be altered.
Instead of imagining it as... being set in stone, imagine it as like a piece of clay that you can continue to mold over and over again. and you can continue to evolve it over time.
And it's not rigid. It's moldable. If you look at your model of the future as something that is set in stone, then anything unexpected that comes your way that kind of takes you off the path. that you initially wanted to go on will freak you out, make you uncomfortable, make you angry, make you upset. and it could prevent you from actually Taking a different direction than you initially planned in potentially finding something awesome, you know and You want your future to be moldable.
Another unhealthy way to think about the future is to not allow yourself to think about the present at all because you're too focused on the future.
So You're so obsessed with this idea of what the future is going to be that you're willing to. sacrifice your well-being in the current moment. to hopefully make your future better.
Now, listen, I think to a certain extent, This is like normal and maybe even healthy, but I think the line is very blurred and it can become. unhealthy so fast.
If your current life is completely miserable and it doesn't really need to be.
And the only reason why your life right now is miserable is because you're putting this intense pressure on yourself now. to basically sacrifice your current self for your future self you're not prioritizing the present moment enough.
For example, Let's say your dream is to be a CEO of a company, right?
You want to start your own company. or you want to be the CEO of a company, you want to get hired, whatever.
In order to accomplish this goal, you cut off all of your friends.
You break up with your significant other. and all you do is work 24 seven, that's it.
And your quality of life is fucking terrible because.
You've ruined all things that bring joy just because you want to accomplish this goal so bad.
I don't care what people say. I don't think that this is a good method because you can't function that way for very long.
It's not a sustainable plan, right? It's easier to work hard when you also have moments of your life that are... joyful and fun and relaxed.
And so if you work yourself too hard, as almost a form of sacrifice for your future self, you might not even be working any harder than you would have...
If you would have not just thrown all of your eggs into one basket.
The truth is the future is promising. But it's not promised.
You know, I know it's kind of depressing to look at it like that, to be like, I don't know if.
Today is my last day. You know, I don't know, but we don't know.
We truly don't know. We never know. And that's the most uncomfortable pill to swallow.
Don't get me wrong. It's not fun to think about, okay?
But we don't know if we have tomorrow. Don't get me wrong.
The future is promising, meaning that there's a really good chance that we do have a tomorrow.
Right. But it's not promised. It's not certain.
So I think maintaining a healthy balance between working towards your future, but also making sure the present moment is enjoyable and has moments for you weaved in is crucial in a lot of ways because tomorrow is just not promised.
Another unhealthy way to look at the future is to dread the future, to dread the terrifying things that the future may hold.
Especially worrying about things that you can't control.
For example, something catastrophic happening. you know, natural disaster or something, somebody in your friends or family is getting hurt, getting sick. you getting hurt, you getting sick, the list goes on.
I struggle with this a lot. I struggle with the fact that tomorrow could bring absolute chaos like any at any moment today could bring absolute chaos.
But tomorrow has an even better chance of bringing absolute chaos.
Because I'm halfway through today and so far so good, okay?
But tomorrow, who fucking knows? within the next year, there's so much time for something bad to happen.
You know, that's the way my brain thinks.
I'm constantly obsessing over the bad catastrophic things that could happen in the future.
And that's just such a miserable way to live your life.
And I'm struggling with this right now. I've been struggling with this since I was a child. definitely less when I was a child, but still when I was a child and.
The truth is you can't control. what you can't control and worrying about it doesn't fucking do anything.
I don't have advice for this though because I'm still figuring this out.
I'm still trying to figure it out. The last unhealthy way to look at the future is to kind of use the future as an excuse to not do anything at all.
Okay. Not get anything done, not, get up and start working towards a goal or something today.
Now, listen, it's one thing to respect your own boundaries and energy levels. and to give yourself breaks when you need them and to respect your own kind of capabilities at any given moment, but it's another thing to completely neglect. your present life because you look at the future and you're like, well, I'm going to accomplish that later.
You know, I'm gonna do that later. I'll work on that later.
If you have the energy and the ability to start working on something now, there's no better time than now.
You know what I'm saying? Using the future as an excuse is not a good thing because you can continue doing that forever for the rest of time.
Just continue. using the future as an excuse and you'll never end up getting anything done.
You know what I'm saying? It's one thing to say, you know what?
I have time to spread out my efforts over a period of time.
And I don't need to do it all in one day.
It's one thing to say that to yourself. But it's another thing to say, I don't need to do anything today.
I don't need to do it this week because I have next week.
And I also have a month from now. to start working on this.
And I have next year even to work on this.
I don't need to start this now. just because you're, for lack of a better word, lazy.
You know what I mean? It's one thing to be lazy and it's another thing to... have balance.
And I think that that's where we all run into problems sometimes because the line is blurred and you have to be honest with yourself about whether or not your using the future as an excuse or you're utilizing the future to have a healthier balance in the present moment. and the healthy ways to think about the future.
Listen, the future is a blank canvas and that is such an incredible thing.
Okay. the future is what you make of it the things in life that you do and accomplish and work on and focus on it's all in your control.
Like what a beautiful thing that is. You know, your idea of what the future is, can change every single day and that's okay because it's a blank fucking canvas and you can do whatever you want with it.
You could wake up one day and say, I'm going to be an architect or, And then the next day you could wake up and say, I don't wanna be an architect anymore.
I actually wanna be, a barista at a coffee shop and guess what?
The future is yours to create. And so you have the freedom to change your mind, Or hone in on a focus for the future that you're really excited about.
It's all up to you. And what a beautiful thing that is.
On top of that, tomorrow is kind of a mystery though too.
Because... You can control what you do tomorrow, but you can't control what's done to you tomorrow.
And that can be a really challenging thing to deal with, but it can be a positive thing if you just let go.
And that's what I'm trying to do right now.
I'm just trying to let go and remember that Tomorrow is a blank canvas.
And all I can control is... the marks that I make on that canvas, the colors that I use on that canvas, I can't control if something comes in and splatters a bunch of green paint all over my canvas.
I can't control that. But what I can control is how I paint around the green splatter marks and make it look amazing, you know?
Okay, I'm done. I'm done, you guys. That's all I have for today.
Okay. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode.
I had so much fun as always. It's such a pleasure to spend time time with all of you.
I really love it. I really love it and I really love you and I really appreciate you.
And I mean, listen, until next week, love you.
Okay, love you. And we will talk very, very soon.
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And I'll talk to you next week. Bye. This episode is brought to you by FX's Alien Earth, the official podcast.
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