If Yesterday Sucked Will Today Likely Suck Too?
I get to decide if today will be like yesterday – or not.
Every single day I get to make new choices.
I’m not talking about what to eat, what to wear, or those types of choices. I’m talking about how to think, feel, and act.
Every. Single. Day. But that doesn’t mean I consciously, actively make choices. Often, I just go with the flow, follow my routines, and let shit happen as it will.
That’s also a choice. Albeit an inactive choice.
No two days are alike. Similar, to be sure. Alike? No. They will have differences because change is the one and only constant in the Universe.
Today might be the same temperature, air pressure, and weather that we had yesterday, But sunrise and sunset will be different – albeit slightly. And the rest of what occupies our waking hours might be extremely similar – but there will be nuanced variances.
This is why if yesterday sucked, today might suck too. Or not. That’s a choice we get to decide on.
Or not.
This always comes down to conscious awareness – mindfulness.
There are ALWAYS choices
Even when it feels like you don’t have any control or choices in a given matter – you do.
You decide who, what, where, when, how, and why you are. Or not.
Often it feels quite a bit easier to move about subconsciously, go by rote and routine, and choose to just let life happen as it will.
That’s not to say that sometimes this is the way to do things. But if you allow that to be your default all too often, you will likely become discontent. And you will feel like you are increasingly losing control.
That’s what I have experienced. The more I’ve just gone with the flow and let my subconscious do the driving, the more I feel like I’m not in charge of my life experience. And that’s because if I allow my subconscious to do the driving – I’m not in charge of my life experience.
Why does this matter? I don’t know about you – but I would very much like to choose how I experience my life most of the time.
If we’re lucky, we get 80-100 years or so in these meat popsicles to experience life. There are lots of things to learn and know. Various sensations, relationships, environments, experiences, and unknowns galore.
Some people get scared by this notion – and there are lots of ways in which various figures throughout our lives use fear as a means to control us. That’s not to say that sometimes fear keeps us safe. But all too often, fear gets weaponized to keep us limited and small, but not truly safe.
Each of us gets to choose how that will impact our lives. Thus, if yesterday sucked we get to choose if today will suck, too.
Yesterday or today – now is the only time that’s real
It is very, very easy to lose sight of this truth.
The only time that is truly real is now. This moment. The past has come and gone – and we learned from it or not. The future, on the other hand, is unwritten – and uncertain, open to influence from both within and without.
Why do I keep harping on this idea? Because a lot of the subconscious matters that drive us are connected to the past and future. We seek to either use the path for growth and change in the future or to return to a time that is colored by our personal biases and prejudices.
Conversely, we’re always looking ahead to a future time when everything aligns perfectly – and we get what we’ve always desired.
The problem is that unless we are in the now – we cede control over directing the future. If we focus on the past and the future, the now tends to slip by unnoticed and uncontrolled.
Do you know what happens then? You probably find yourself anxious or depressed, uncertain, and more than likely unsatisfied.
I know this feeling. I’ve been working on and with this for years now.
Just to add insult to injury – if yesterday sucked, it’s all too easy for today to suck, too. We get caught up in a mindset of self-preservation and defense – and coming off of a bad day into a new day it’s too easy to rehash what has come and gone.
So, what can we do, if yesterday sucked, to make sure that today doesn’t suck, too?
Pause, reflect, be here now
Yesterday, for me, didn’t suck. But neither was it a grand and glorious, nor terribly interesting day. It was a perfectly neutral, largely unexciting day.
And it has come and gone. Today is a new day.
I started with my usual routine. I got up, did my reading, and then sat down here at my keyboard to prep my blog for publishing. However – I hadn’t written it yet.
So, I decided to go ahead and alter my routine a bit. I played a game, took a shower, and then came back to the keyboard and the blank screen. I paused, reflected, and considered where I am here and now.
What have I got to do today?
There are a bunch of things I need to do. Work has several demands of my time. There are obligations to be met. And I get to decide if I go into autopilot and let the rote and routine carry me along – or be consciously aware and choose how to approach my day – mindful of where, what, how, why, and all that I am.
By pausing to reflect on where I am, here and now, I open myself to conscious awareness. Yes, this applies to my literal environment. But more importantly – it applies to my inner being. I get to be consciously aware of my thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions via mindfulness.
Thus – I get to choose if I am going to let today just occur on autopilot and potentially suck – or take the wheel and do what I can to make it a good and positive experience.
And so – in answer to my question – if yesterday sucked will today likely suck too? Yes – if you let it. But you and I can make choices and decisions to neutralize it – if not outright turn it around to positivity.
Here is a question worth your time to answer. What would you like today to look like?
Choosing for today not to suck isn’t hard
It’s all about working with mindfulness of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions.
When we release what has come and gone – be it yesterday, last week, years ago, or what-have-you – and also not put all our focus and attention on the unwritten, always in motion future – we can work on being consciously aware and mindful in the here and now.
Then, when we work to be more present, in the now, we get to choose if today will suck, be neutral, good, or even amazing. When we choose how to approach the day, we give ourselves permission to assume control over our life experiences. That empowers me – and it can empower you, too. And we can use this to choose things leaning towards the positive end of life’s extremes.
Taking an approach to positivity and negativity – from the vast space that exists between them – I believe shifts the concept in a way to open more dialogue. In that form, we can explore and share where we are between those extremes and how that might impact us in the here and now.
Finally, I believe the better aware we are of ourselves in the now, the more we can do to choose and decide how our life experience will be. If that empowers us, it might open those around us to their own empowerment. And that is, to me, a worthwhile endeavor to explore and share.
Thank you for coming along on this ride with me.
This is the four hundred and twenty-second entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.
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