The Hausa folk artiste, Dan Anache, once said that the best thing about tomorrow is that it is always an arm’s length away.
Do you ever wonder why water in a pot sitting on a stove will never boil if you watch it every step of the way? Time is constant, the water will boil at exactly the time it should whether watched or not. The difference is in the perception of time, and that itself has to do with the distortion in the time ranging- function of your consciousness. The thing about tomorrow is that it arrives… on time.
The entirety of existence is also in the perception of time; your whole being is already in the past. That means that everything about you so far is yesterday. And tomorrow is built today. This is true no matter who you are, where you work, how much money you have or how many connections you have with power.
There is nothing you can do to control or manage yesterday, but tomorrow is up for grabs, and not just by you, but by everyone that has anything to do with the tomorrow you envision. You can’t change yesterday, and the trouble with tomorrow is that you have to go through the day to get your hands on it. The thing about tomorrow is that you are not the only one who wants its prizes and is willing to pay.
We all want something, and for the most part, those things are on the morrow. Believe it or not, tomorrow also wants something from you. If tomorrow has something you want and you also have something tomorrow wants, you are a predator as much as you are also a prey; killed or be killed. That is why there are bad days, and if you get more bad days than good ones, you know you are not only missing the target but losing the war to them.
Like Dan Anache argued, tomorrows will keep coming and when they come they will come for you. You cannot stop time, you cannot slow them down, you cannot run and you cannot hide. You can either be afraid of tomorrow or you can face up.
Today is the battlefield you fight tomorrow on. Yes, everything anyone will tell you from Sun Tzu to Hannibal and to Iliya Dan Maikarfi preach about warfare applies, but you must understand the subtleties and the nuances of their ideas to get any use out of them. But planning has to take place today. So, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing you can pause and reflect. You can stop whatever you are doing and take a few minutes to reflect on the day and your choices. Turn off any distractions that may interfere with your ability to think clearly and deliberately, and isolate yourself if necessary.
To get all of these down, it also helps if you meditate. While you’re isolated and distraction-free, set aside some time to meditate, it’s simpler and more effective than you may think. Your goal here is to free your mind of any wandering thoughts, distractions and general clutter that can stress you out and reinforce your negative feelings. Any time a new thought enters your mind, visualise yourself, letting it go, and return to a state of mindfulness. It may take some practice, but the physical and mental benefits are numerous. You’ll feel better, you’ll think more clearly, and you’ll be less stressed – all of which should carry over at least partially into tomorrow.
You should also prioritise. Sacrifice some time tonight to dedicate to items on tomorrow’s agenda. You don’t have to actually work on anything – instead, your job will be to prioritise things for tomorrow. You can create a short list of everything you have to do, everything you hope to do and everything that may be nice to do; these will serve as your three main priority categories. Then, decide what you’re going to start on first, and how you’re going to arrange your day for the remainder of your tasks. Be sure to leave some time for unexpected new assignments and responsibilities.
Also, learn the habit of establishing break and silent times especially when you feel yourself overwhelmed. Your mind needs periods of rest to decompress and relieve itself of stress. Otherwise, you will find yourself being outflanked through the holes you leave open in your lines. Right now, schedule at least two breaks for yourself, and make them a high priority. Don’t let yourself be distracted through them or sacrifice them for any reason. Those will serve as your decompression time, giving you something to look forward to and giving you a chance to keep yourself in a healthy frame of mind all day.
What you should know about tomorrow is that it will be here before you know it…. So, if the outcome of winning the battle of tomorrow is having a better day, you might as well mentally commit to having a better day tomorrow. This is far more important than it would seem. How you feel about and react to the world depends largely on your frame of mind when experiencing things. If you’re feeling impatient, angry, and like you are having the worst day ever, driving through a traffic jam, or one of the tattered roads in the city is going to seem incredibly frustrating? If you set out thinking that the day is beautiful and that nothing can keep you down, and there is no need to reroute, a traffic jam may seem like a good opportunity to listen to Dala or Vision FMs and follow the show. Go ahead and touch that dial at the first mention of 2023. Make a commitment to yourself, right now, that tomorrow will be a better day, and invest in that belief. You will be amazed what an impact it will have on your outlook.
You would do well to not procrastinate on your plans…. You will almost certainly lose the initiative and the outcome will no longer rest on the viability of the plan. With the right attitude, a solid plan, and the right tools at your disposal, you do not have to be afraid of tomorrow. One bad day, no matter how bad, means you might have lost the battle and not the war. So, turn the tide, take action now to make sure tomorrow becomes a better day.
What you need to know about tomorrow is that you can’t hide from it – it will come, and it is also out for you. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.
