This is a concept I have been using over the last few years. I say to myself: What would I say about this tomorrow? Our “today-self” focuses on immediate results. I want that donut…now. Our “tomorrow-self” looks at the future and says you want to lose that 10 lbs.…don’t do it. “Tomorrow-self” looks at the task and plans to consistently put in time each day to chip away at it. Here are a few things I am doing with my tomorrow self and a great FS (Farnam Street) article below as well:
— Start Small – If you decide to run a marathon, you simply are not going to start off by running 26 miles right away. You start with one mile, or even half of a mile, then…
— Keep Going – “Tomorrow-self” values sticking with something and completing the task little by little over time. If you want to start saving for a trip, put away $100 each paycheck instead of taking out thousands of dollars all at once.
— Change your Point of View – Don’t be overwhelmed by the size of the task. Instead, focus on what you can do now and what you can continue to do in your daily routine to work towards completion. This helps us not become stuck.
When thinking of the future, try to do something small today to get closer to your goals tomorrow. Tomorrow self is the self to listen to….all the time.
The Fantastic Life Rule #9:
Recognize There Are Two Kinds of Pain
Today-self bows to the pain of discipline. Tomorrow-self fears the pain of regret. In my experience, the pain of regret is far more painful than the pain of discipline.
Let Tomorrow Self Run My Life
Farnam Street blog #476—6/12/22
By: Shane Parish
There is a constant battle in all of us between our today-self and our tomorrow-self.
Today-self is like our inner child. Today-self cares only about today. It wants to focus on things that offer an immediate payoff. Whether that’s kicking back with a few too many glasses of wine, spending money on status symbols, or avoiding doing things that can be done tomorrow. Tomorrow-self is like our inner adult.
Tomorrow-self cares about things that take time to get results — like working on your relationship, saving money, or consistently moving the project forward one inch at a time.
Imagine you are tasked with building a brick wall. Today-self looks at the empty space in disbelief, discouraged at the size of the project. Today-self decides to start tomorrow. Only tomorrow never comes because the empty space again seems insurmountable. Today-self decides to talk about the wall they’re going to build, as if it were the same as building the wall. It’s not.
Tomorrow-self knows that no one builds a wall all at once. It’s going to take a month of consistent effort from the time you start before it’s done. Tomorrow-self wishes you’d stop thinking about the wall and focus on one brick.
Everything is a matter of perspective. Where you focus determines what you see. It’s easy to get lost in the magnitude of what you’re doing and completely ignore how it gets done. Focusing on the wall makes the task impossible. You have to focus on the brick.
The lesson applies to everything. If you’re writing a book, focus on writing the best paragraph and not the entire book. If you’re playing sports, focus on the next play and not winning the game. If you’re starting a company, focus on delighting one customer. Or, if you’re my kids, don’t focus on the pile of T-shirts to be folded, focus on one shirt.
Don’t focus on the enormity of the task, rather focus on the smallest thing you can do that moves you forward. As the momentum builds, things get easier. The second paragraph is easier to write than the first. The second T-shirt is easier to fold than the first. The second brick is easier to lay than the first.
Grasping this concept and applying it to what you’re doing is the key to accomplishing anything. Focus on a small but critical part of the task that moves you forward. Execute. Repeat. The logic is simple but not simplistic.
The wisdom of tomorrow-self is this: Focus on one thing you can do today to make tomorrow easier. Repeat.