Are You Excited About Tomorrow?

In today’s episode of the Inspiration2grow podcast I have a very important question to ask you – Are you excited about tomorrow? 

Here’s something you might not know about me… I taught and tutored children for many years and one way I often used to help them remember things was through alliteration.  We would have so much fun thinking up funny, often hilarious 2 – 3 words phrases using alliteration to create memorable facts, tips or things they needed to remember in a pinch.  It seemed to work well and I am still using it today to remind myself of the themes of each day of the week for this podcast:
Mindset Monday, Tangible Tips on Tuesday, Thriving on Thursday, Fitness Friday, – you get the picture, right?  Wednesday is still a bit of a wildcard day.

So, here we are on Thursday’s episode and I am asking you whether you feel like you’re thriving or merely surviving. 

You know I talk a lot about finding an activity that lights you up.  And, today I am asking you straight up – do you have something that gets you up in the morning, pumped to start the day, excited to get going, revved up to tackle the day ahead?

When you go to bed at night, are you excited to wake up the next morning? Is there something you can’t wait for?

Personally, I look forward to moving my body, being able to exercise without pain, getting outside for at least one workout and finding out what my body is capable of through lifting weights.  The night before I prepare mentally for the next day, planning out each workout session rather meticulously and I also kind of ‘declare’ my intentions at the beginning of the following day, so that my husband knows where I’ll be and what I’m doing.  Sometimes he joins me, sometimes he doesn’t.

But, one other very exciting aspect of each day is this podcast.  I absolutely LOVE creating episodes for you, connecting with guests who want to share their messages with you, interviewing them, preparing the episodes for publishing and all the behind-the-scenes tasks that are involved in producing a podcast. It’s my passion for helping people and my creative nature that truly come to life in this podcast.

These two things get me very excited to start the day.  And, I am beyond grateful to have both of them.  I have come to realize it’s not a ‘given’ that we will always be able to move our bodies the way we want to.  Our mobility can be taken away from us suddenly or slowly over time.  You might not believe me and think that I am being overly dramatic here, but, trust me, I am not.  You never know just how devastating this situation is until you have experienced it yourself, first hand. 

For the past four years or so, I’ve asked myself the question – Are you excited about tomorrow? –  many nights. And often, I had nothing to be excited about. Those days were not special. They were like the day before. I was merely surviving; trying to get through each day somehow.

Let’s face it, most days of your life are the same. Do you know that feeling? You look back, and time seems to blend. You can’t separate days from each other. There’s a real danger in that feeling.

Because the next step is that you can’t separate the weeks from each other. That is what happens when every day is the same. And after a while, you stop noticing many things. You just go with it.

And finally, the years start to blend. And all of a sudden, you’re 80 years old, and you’re sitting in a chair, and you say:

“What happened to my life? Where did all my time go?”

I think many people underestimate the value of life. I’ve done that for many years as well. When I look back at my years of working hard (maybe too hard) building up my businesses, I think that I had a great time. But I can’t recall much from those years. It’s just like this one big event.

We all have chapters in our lives where time passes, life is hectic, we are working hard with our nose to the grind, somehow getting by, but are we really thriving?
Are we taking time to ‘smell the roses’ as the saying goes?  I doubt it.  And if you are or did, good on you. 

The truth is that time moves fast.  So, fast, in fact, when we take a moment to look back and reflect, we can’t recall much of what happened.

I’ve thought a lot about why that is. And I think that the Stoic philosopher, Seneca, who lived about 2000 years ago, had a good answer:
“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”

The problem is that we don’t treat every single day as a separate life at all. We wake up, drink coffee/tea, take care of our family, go to work, make money, do groceries, have drinks, watch Netflix, and go to bed. Or whatever your routine is.

The next day you wake up, and you repeat the EXACT same thing.

Do you know that proverb; variety is the spice of life? I’m sure you do. But why don’t you spice up your life?

Would you eat the same food every single day of your life? No one does that. You switch it up. One day you have some Italian, then some Chinese, maybe some Indian. Whatever. Or if you eat one cuisine, you switch up the herbs or spices.

So why on earth don’t you do that with your life?

If you’re not excited. Get excited. 

The funny thing is that variety is simple. Here’s another cliché for you — the best things in life are free.

Every day, pick something you want to enjoy. One day you can enjoy the rain, the other day you can enjoy the sunset.

Or how about having your favourite breakfast tomorrow? Or how about trying a whole new breakfast from another cuisine? I’m just throwing some tiny ideas at you. Variety doesn’t have to be big.

Get excited about life. Learn new skills. Languages. Cultures. Build a strong body. Switch up the little things. All those little things make life long and interesting.
These days, I’m glad that time doesn’t blend anymore. I treat every day as a separate life. And every day I’m a different person. A little bit stronger, educated, and different than the day before.

If you want to enjoy life, you have to make it happen. A good life doesn’t happen to you. Most people think that’s the case. They ask: “Why does my life suck?” Well, if you want a good life, YOU have to turn that into a reality. No one’s going to do it for you.

When you’re in bed, ask yourself: Am I excited about tomorrow?

·         If the answer is no many days in a row, it’s time to do something about it.
·         If the answer is maybe, ask again tomorrow, maybe you just had a miserable day.
·         If the answer is yes, go to bed with a smile on your face, and jump out of your bed in the morning.
 
Change is good, but you also have to be practical. You have responsibilities, issues, people to take care of, bills to pay, etc. So you can’t just hop on a plane and go to an island in the South Pacific or the Caribbean if your life isn’t exactly what you want it to be right now.

But you CAN do many other small things that turn every day into a separate life. So do it.
 
So, let me re-cap because I am very passionate about living life to the fullest, in the most exciting way possible for you.

When you go to bed at night, are you excited to wake up the next morning? Is there something you can’t wait for?

Ponder that question for a moment…       If your answer is no, find something that excites you.

It’s so important to have a feeling of, “I can’t wait for tomorrow,” when you go to bed. 

When you’re genuinely excited, you wake up the next day and make the best of it. 

It could be anything. Maybe you’re excited about trying a new breakfast. 
Or you just can’t wait to start reading a new book. Or you can’t wait to get working on your business.
Or you want to move your body and get some exercise in.

It’s a good way to live. If you have a bunch of those exciting days in a row it adds up to a good life.

I would also like to invite you to become part of the Inspiration2grow community on Facebook.  The group name is: Inspiration2grow for Female Goal-getters.  It is meant to be a community of like-minded women who want to grow strong from the inside out.  There will be daily journalling prompts, nutrition and fitness tips, exercises to try, encouraging conversations among the community and lots more.  So, be sure to join this group for support, new ideas and the necessary rocket fuel to propel your health and wellness to new heights.

You owe it to yourself to take care of yourself, show up for yourself and become the best version of YOU.

In case you haven’t heard it yet today, let me be the first to tell you…

You are incredible, capable and your potential is limitless.  Never forget that I believe in you 100%.  Now, go out there and show the world what you are truly made of.

I hope to have inspired you to grow.

Til next time,
Lisa  xoxo