Category: Present

Who Do You Want To Be Today?

Each day is an opportunity: where to go, what to do, how to act, and so on. Have you given any thought to what today will bring?

The typical lifespan will include nearly 30,000 days. That’s a lot of days! And while some heavily-scheduled days may leave little room for improvisation, for most we have choice regarding the details.

You might, for instance, get up early; you might stay up late.  You could spend your time working, or maximize your personal time. Even if you have little flexibility, you can at least decide how to dress.

The decisions you make in the course of your day will help to define, ultimately, who you are. And the best part is that with 30,000 todays to choose from, there is plenty of opportunity to experiment with different choices. You are not locked in to one decision, and you can find what works best for you.

To make the most of all these choices, however, you might want to have some strategy going in. So rather than start each day wondering how you might want it to unfold, you may want to have a plan. Who do you want to be? Then make choices to make that person come into being.

For instance, let’s say you decide you are a little overweight, and in general not in good shape. You might decide to use a chunk of those 30,000 days to exercise more and eat more healthy food. Then you can make changes on a daily basis to reach that outcome.

In conclusion, who do you want to be today? And what decisions can you make this morning, to make that person come into being, both for today, as well as for the next month or more?

Related questions: What do you hope to learn today? Who are you? What is one thing you feel the need to do every day?

How Do You See The Future?

It can be difficult to see months into the future, let alone years or decades. How do you see what lies ahead?

Reality serves us a constant reminder that we don’t know what is going to happen. At the start of the football season, we don’t know who is going to win the Super Bowl. We can’t predict the weather more than a week in advance. People who invest in the stock market can only hope a particular stock will go up in price.

And yet, despite all the evidence that shows we cannot accurately predict the future, some people seem awfully sure about what will happen next. News pundits, op-ed columnists, and politicians all seem certain they know exactly what will happen. Not to mention psychics and tarot card readers.

With that in mind, how do you think about what tomorrow will bring?

Perhaps you view the future with optimism. Tomorrow, you might expect, will be better than today. But, of course, there is no guarantee that this is true.

Or you might think that instead, we can expect the future to be very much like the present (or the past). After all, the sun rose yesterday, it rose this morning, and it will rise tomorrow. But we know that sometimes there are changes, including big ones. The COVID-19 pandemic caught nearly everyone by surprise, and that was an obvious case where the future (say, April 2020) didn’t resemble the past (February 2020).

When you think about the future, how do you make predictions, and how do you react to those predictions? What does that mean for your present?

Related questions: Should we try to predict the future? How much does your past determine your future? Will the future be better than the present? How do you plan for the future?

How’s It Going?

In order to improve your life, sometimes you first need to evaluate your life. With that in mind, how’s it going?

In life, it is easy to get caught up worrying about the future. In particular, at this moment in time, the future is very uncertain.

For instance, there is an important election coming up. What will happen if my side wins, and what if they lose? There are also other existential threats, from A.I. to climate change to global conflicts.

There are also more personal level concerns. Maybe you are worried about the future of your job, or your kids, or your health, or something else entirely.

You might also be obsessive about the past, even if you can’t do anything about it. A contentious conversation may play over and over in your head. Or you may have regret over a mistake you made, or a snarky comment you said in passing.

To prevent these unhelpful thoughts, it might help to take stock of your current situation. In this moment, right now, how do you feel? Why do you feel that way? Does it make sense? Is it helpful, and is it productive?

Knowing your present state might help you to calm down. However, being aware of your inner state, your thoughts and feelings, is absolutely crucial to your future self. In order to become the person you want to be, you need to know who you are first.

This is a skill that not many people develop. The ability to think about yourself, to evaluate why you say what you say and act the way you do is difficult. It is also valuable, both to yourself as well as to the people around you.

In addition to this introspection, we also are checking in on our readers. With that in mind: How’s it going?

Related questions: How are we doing? What are you thinking about? How do you feel? How can we appreciate life more?

What Will You Do Today To Make Your Tomorrow Better?

The idea of a better tomorrow is very appealing. To get there, however, will take action, preferably today. What action are you taking?

To some extent, we understand the power we have when it comes to shaping the future. We know that if we want to have a flourishing garden, we need to plant the seeds and water them first.

This illustrates that the action we take today — planting the seeds — leads to what we want tomorrow — a garden.

So, with that in mind, what metaphorical seeds do you want to plant and nourish? What do you hope to eventually harvest and share with your community?

There is a concept known as the butterfly effect: a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can lead to a hurricane half a world away. That is, a small change in initial conditions can lead to a massive impact at a different place and later time.

This idea is often used in time-travel stories. Stepping out of a time machine, a story’s protagonist accidentally steps on an insect, then finds the future altered beyond recognition.

But the same idea can work in the present. One small action now, properly positioned, can have deep and lasting impacts on what comes next.

So, with that in mind, what can you do in this direction? What is the better future you want, and what are the steps today to be taken to achieve it?

Related questions: How much does your past determine your future? Will the future be better than the present? Should we try to predict the future? How do you set priorities?

History Or Current Events?

Do you prefer to learn about things that happened in the past, or do you spend more time on current events?

Share why if you wish.

History Or Current Events?
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