Yesterday,
Today, and Tomorrow
by: Jeff Earlywine
Recently a person attended one
of my goal setting seminars with a different kind of focus; I will call him
Richie. I had the feeling, as I was leading the group in a goal setting
exercise, that Richie had recently traveled this road. After hearing his story
I discovered that in fact he did have a new outlook on life; and goals
attached.
Richie is now living his life as
if he going to die tomorrow, but at the same time, he is living his life as if
he is going to live forever. Confused? Simply put, he is living this way
because six weeks prior to the seminar he was diagnosed with an inoperable
brain tumor. News that made him stop and reflect seriously about the important
things in his life. Not only was he thinking about his life yesterday and
today, but was now thinking seriously about his life twenty years from now.
Yes, with God's help he plans to win the battle against this tumor and die an
old man.
So, are you living your life
like you are going to die tomorrow, and like you are going to live forever? I
know this is a morbid thought, but a very important thought worth discussing.
To live like this requires a certain amount of focus. Focusing, not on
yesterday, but on today and tomorrow.
You must understand that
yesterday is a canceled check. There is no way you can go back and change
anything. You cannot take back a word you have spoken, foods you have eaten,
time spent away from family, or mistakes you have made. Are you allowing your
past to affect you negatively today and will you tomorrow? If you do it is
probably because of fear and pain.
Fear usually comes from past
failures. Failures that have made a deep imprint on your mind, and the pain
from those failures keeps you from making the same mistakes again. A good
example of this can be seen in relationships, our should I say, "failed
relationships." For instance, a person falls in love and gets married only
to find that their spouse is a control freak. After several tough years of
marriage, it ends in a messy divorce. The pain of this divorce, and the fear of
the past has the person bound in relationship handcuffs - not willing to get
close to another person for a long time.
You must also understand that
today is full of challenges that will help you grow. Today is our bridge from
yesterday to tomorrow. To put it another way, it is our bridge from what we
can't change to what we can. The challenges you face today are many times
because of the decisions you made yesterday and will provide the strength you
need to go into tomorrow confident and excited. There are 86,400 seconds in
your life today. Once the clock strikes midnight today is gone, never to
return. I encourage you to live today to its fullest. Go mach3 with your hair
on fire, try things that you have never done before, do something crazy; just
live.
Be like a friend of mine. He
always wanted to run out to his mailbox with no clothes on. So, one cold
winter's night, about two o'clock in the morning he fulfilled his goal. If only
his neighbors could have seen his "full moon!"
Tomorrow your potential can be
increased. Richie is planning to be victorious over this brain tumor and is
focusing his mental energy on his future. He is living like he will live
forever. With no plans to die, he is spending time with his family, drawing up
plans for their next new home, and looking forward to the new opportunities
that God will bring his way.
Yes, he is living like he will
die tomorrow - after all he has a killer inside his head. But instead of
wallowing in discouragement he is choosing to focus on tomorrow with excitement
and enthusiasm. He is also letting God take care of the tumor.
At the end of this Footprints
and Monuments I want to give you something to think about. It is a rabbi's
thoughts on the life cycle.
Life is tough, it takes up a lot
of your time. What do you get out of it? I think the life cycle is all
backwards. The following is how I see it:
I challenge you to live like you
are going to die tomorrow, while at the same time like you are going to live
forever.
About The Author
Jeff Earlywine - www.jeffearlywine.com
|
Author Index Words Of Wisdom NuPathz Home
NuPathz.com – Your affordable source for self improvement and self help books & materials
Illuminating the path for personal motivation, growth and development
SUCCESS = TAKING THE STEPS TO DO THE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO!
JUST GO FOR IT!