Seeing as it is New Year and all … I thought what better time to talk about my philosophy towards life. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t win all the time but this simple rule to live by often stands me in good stead!
The premise is very very simple. Whenever I think about a life choice (no matter how simple it seems) I ask myself if my future self will benefit from it. This encourages me to treat myself like I would my best friend. Meaning I make choices that will look after my health, state of mind and life in general.
So let’s stop being all abstract and hippy and put it into a real like situation.
Let’s say I am really tired and can’t be ar$ed to clean the kitchen before I go to bed. Well I am faced with two realistic choices (well actually three if you throw getting Mike to do it into the mix … but that isn’t the point ?)
- I go to bed and leave it until the morning. I wake up and have to do it before the school run. The dishes will be all dried and crusty and much harder to clean ?
- I suck it up and do it before I go to bed. Knowing that when I wake up in the morning I can start the day with a clean kitchen.
The crux here is that I will STILL have to clean the kitchen. There is no escaping that fact. I can either choose to do it now and make my life easier, or I can choose to leave it and make my lfe harder tomorrow.
You can expand this to any situaiton in life.
Do I eat this whole tube of Pringles? What will my future Gemma say? Will she be swearing at me when my jeans don’t fit?
Remember leaving your homework until 8pm on a Sunday night after Birds of a Feather had finished? When that theme tune played how did you feel? It always used to depress the hell out of me because that was my realisation moment that Monday was fast approaching and I hadn’t got my shiz together! When I was a teenager there were even times when I was known to set my alarm for 5am on a Monday moring to do my homework! I was NOT Being my future friend!
I like to imagine my future self’s face when I try to put something off! She has a very stern look when she is disappointed ?And if I don’t do it, then there will always be that I told you so moment in my head! She can be very smug … But I love her cos we’re friends!
You can watch my YouTube all about motivation here (ps soz about the sound I have now been my future friend and fixed my sound recording equipment ?)