Now. Today is the only day you have. I know that the phrase, ‘today is the first day of the rest of your life’ is quoted often. But… have you thought that today, right now may be your only day? Consider, for a moment, what you would want your final day to look like – and then you will be able to replicate it in a ‘…rest of your life…’ context.
In so many ways, today is the only known. You have this moment that you are alive and breathing but how are you involved in it? Does the understanding, because it has to be more than mere realization, exist that this moment in time is all that you know you have? How does it affect how you respond to others? How does it impact on your activities? What does it say about who you are?
Before you dismiss the concept as unimportant let me give further definition. Approaching each day as your only day does not mean ignoring the future. You need to have goals to aspire to and actions to further you on your journey to accomplishment. But it does place them in a context according to their importance, their relevance. But it is you who are involved in determining the goals and refining them… daily – not ‘occasionally’.
Another thing this focus does not do is to ignore your responsibilities. However, it will make a difference in what you commit yourself to. Activities that may seem important outside of a context may lose its relevance. And other things, activities, people may increase in importance. But you may reconsider those ideas, people, ‘things’ that you commit yourself to tacitly.
The ONLY day concept is not doom and gloom. It is not fatalistic – it is another way to order your thinking. It may enhance your day. It definitely gives you a different sense of ownership.
