Why Not Today, My Friend?

Photo by Nathan Lemon on Unsplash

“Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow’s a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present."  ~ Eleanor Roosevelt.

There are some things in life we all love to do and then there are those tasks that require much more effort. You know those tasks that you try to ignore as long as possible, as you simply do not have the time or energy for them?

We all have some of THOSE TASKS that is certain. The tidying of my clothes closet was one of them. I had been avoiding organizing it for months, as let’s face it, the tidying up of a cluttered closet, can be a very daunting task. Just looking at it drained my energy, yet how liberating it felt to put it in order and send a few bags of clothes off to the local thrift store. It was a long and tedious task, but such a great feeling when it was finally done.

As a teacher early in my career, I used to have a very messy, cluttered desk. I could never find anything and I felt like I was a terrible example to the students. I have since changed my ways and now pride myself in keeping a very orderly desktop. It is my belief that it is not fair to get after kids to tidy their desks, if mine is an absolute disaster, so I am glad I have improved in this area.

It is quite humorous when we do desk cleanouts in my classroom I  must say. I do them on a regular basis to help keep the students organized and it is funny because of what they find! The one who never has a pencil suddenly has six, or the missing notebook that couldn’t be found anywhere suddenly makes an appearance, or the permission form that they swear they never got, is there in all its glory. Certain kids dread this task more than others because their desks are more untidy, yet all of them have such grins of satisfaction on their faces when their desks are tidy. It is priceless to witness as they are so proud to show me their neat and tidy work space, and you can tell they “get it,” that the tidy desk option is so much more appealing than the messy one! 

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

I have worked with so many people in the past in my social work career who had a “when I - then I " mentality. This is explained with examples such as “when I find more time, I will start exercising,” or “when my life gets a little less stressful, I will try to make time for positive changes.” The problem is that if you wait for the perfect opportunity, it will never come.

An example of this is a young mom who repeatedly kept telling me that she “really wanted to get her family out to church,” but she had every excuse under the sun. “It is our only family day, and the kids are too young for the service and we don’t have proper church clothes…” You know how it goes and I did totally understand her concerns. I explained to her however, that we had a program for every age group and that church attire is more casual these days. No matter what I said though, she just explained that when they were older, she would bring them.

​Well I bet you can guess what happened? Sadly that day has never come and her kids have really gone through some incredibly hard times. Her and her husband are great people and parents, but she shared with me later in life that she had so many regrets in this area. She confided that she wished she would have committed to regular church attendance when the kids were younger, as she knew it would have greatly benefited them and then they would be in the faithful routine of coming. 

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano A

Sometimes hindsight is 20/20 as they say, yet it is never too late to start something new. My mom always wanted to learn to play piano, but never learned as a child. She took piano lessons at age 40 and was so thrilled to be able to sit down at the piano and play church hymns and her favourite songs as she had always imagined. I always respected her so much for this. She decided one day that she was not going to put it off another day, but she was going to learn to play piano NOW.

Procrastination is a problem for many people. The bigger issue is as we choose to put off things for “another” day, the dreaded tasks just pile up and before we know it, what was once a molehill, is now a mountain. In addition, the “another” day never seems to present itself. This then leaves us feeling more discouraged, so it becomes a vicious circle. Many addictions are like that and what was once a little habit, now holds people captive without them realizing. Change is a process and it begins with little steps. Hopes, dreams, recovery steps, and new pursuits can become reality when we decide not to embrace the “when I - then I,” mantra but rather the anthem of "why not today? "

What’s been on the back burner in your life? Could it be Bible reading, exercising, eating better, more time for self care, looking for a good church, or spending more time with friends? There is no time like the present to start looking at it again. The Bible says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. The cool thing is when we decide to make positive changes in our lives not only is God our greatest cheerleader, but he also promises to be right beside us giving us increased strength to do so.

I have had times where I have made sincere commitments to make positive change in some area of my life and then it seems life steps in and derails me. Despite my best intentions, I can feel like I am on the hamster wheel, going nowhere fast. I have made a commitment to exercise more regularly, eat better and read my Bible more often. I am happy to say I am doing much better in my eating and Bible reading, but my exercising definitely needs to improve.

Reflecting on that however, I have not been feeling well, but have still gone for walks and even tried pickle ball this week with my friends for the first time.  That is a huge WIN in my books. Change takes time. I am choosing to be patient with myself, and you should too.

The bottom line is we all can have some big, legit reasons or excuses to put us off track, but looking at the big picture is key.  I have learned that if today was not the best than all is not lost, as I know I can turn it around tomorrow or another day.

All too often we can let one bad day, spiral out of control and take us away from our goals. Don’t allow that to happen as every morning, with every sunrise, we get a fresh, new start. I would love to hear what area of your life you are working on right now in the comments.

It is very exciting to think of where you can end up when you make a decision that today is the day that I begin putting positive steps into action in my life.

Don’t let seeds of doubt or discouragement creep in. You can do it! Why not today? Today feels like a great day for positive change don’t you agree? I am cheering for you all the way.

Until next time,

~ Dana

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Little Lesson Learned: Don’t put off for tomorrow what you could do today. There is no better time than the present.

One of my favourite groups, Rascal Flatts who I had the pleasure of seeing in concert, has a perfect song to encourage us in our positive changes called "Feels Like Today." Enjoy!

Tags: procrastination, goal setting, self improvement, start today, growth mindset

Author

Dana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker and recording artist. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. 
 
Feel free to reach out to Dana 
at: [email protected] ​

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana, revised edition, First edition, © 2014 entitled: Why Not Today?
(Dana Romualdi)  
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