The future will be easier - if you make it
A re-post of "Be kind to your future self"
I shared this story with paid subscribers back in October. It’s about making time now to do things that make life easier down the road. I like to remind myself of this when I feel like procrastinating - which is quite often! Be well. And happy Friday. ~JRC
Be kind to your future self
First published on October 18th, 2021 as a paid subscribers story.
There's a saying I like: be kind to your future self.
In a nutshell, this means doing things now that will make your future life that much easier - and better. Good stuff like eating well, getting rest, and reducing stress, do the job. But so do seemingly insignificant things like cleaning up a mess now instead of later. Or sorting out what you'll need for a job before the challenge is before you. These efforts, done ahead of time, help prepare you for whatever comes next.
Being kind to your future self, then, is more than being good to yourself. It's about setting the stage for the future - which is uncertain. When you take time to do things now, when you have time, then whatever comes next, at least those other things are behind you.
This is the best part of being kind to your future self - it opens up extra time. If all goes well, then maybe you’ll get a well-deserved break in the future. And if not, then at least you have time in your schedule to address those snafus that come with living.
I ran into such a hang-up today. My son and I went for a quick overnight camping trip to our favorite spot, the Mojave Trails National Monument. It's about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from our house, so I like to leave early and return early - to avoid traffic. All went well until we started heading back Sunday morning.
We left the campsite around 9 AM. Not exactly early, but still in plenty of time to avoid most problems. Most, anyway.
As we left Joshua Tree and approached Palm Springs, my GPS showed an hour-and-a-half delay on I-10. It must have been a bad accident because traffic had backed up for miles.
I searched alternative routes and found one that saved 45 minutes in total travel time. This new route was still a good hour longer than usual, but it was better than the alternative. So we headed East on I-10 instead of west and then eventually went southwest back towards San Diego.
The challenge, of course, was that we were not the only ones to rush to find an alternate route. Heading up the windy two-lane road into San Bernardino National Forest, we piled in behind a line of like-minded drivers. This convoy stretched for miles into the hills ahead of us. And so it went, on and on, for miles.
I won't belabor it longer, but the total trip took three extra hours. It was frustrating, but it could have been a lot worse. For one, we could have been the ones in that accident on I-10 West that started this whole thing (I do hope it wasn't catastrophic for those involved). Second, I had previously done a few things that made our delayed homecoming less painful. And these would save us time once we arrived.
The main effort that helped: I sorted, cleaned, and packed our gear well when I broke down the campsite. I am always tempted to stuff things and go - but I never do. Sorting now makes unpacking later all the easier — a classic example of being kind to oneself. And in this case, it lessened the burden of our delay.
Once home, my older self had already been there and left the storage area for the camping stuff all neat and clean. So breaking down our gear was a breeze. And in good form, I paid it forward by immediately unpacking, sorting, and cleaning everything once home. Again, being kind to future me was the name of the game (I know he hates to clean, for example, so I did it for him).
In all, the traffic delay wasn't all that bad. The route we ended up taking was far more scenic, and my son and I had a few good laughs along the way. And with the momentum I generated driving for so long I channeled it into getting things done immediately when we arrived.
And then - I sat down to write this story. The original idea is not what you are reading. Plans changed, as I've shared. And, honestly, after the long drive and extra work, I’m not engaged enough to put that other idea into words. Not today, anyway. So this new story I ripped from today's personal headlines. And tried my best to tie it all together.
I know, I know. If I were really kind to my future self, I would have already written my Monday's story before going camping. But there is only so much I can do for future me. Sometimes he has to fend for himself.
Until next time.
JRC
I loved this story in part because it describes someone I would like to be. But also, because it puts emphasis on being kind to oneself. Yes, it is nice to be kind to others and often I’ve been kind to my own detriment. Finding that balance is where I need to work now.
“Being kind to your future self”. is a great way of looking at things. I'll think about that next time I feel like leaving a mess for later (which happens more than I’d like to admit). Taking care of one’s health is probably the most important self-kindness one could undertake…though I know some who are perfectly happy trading present indulgences for future decrepitude. That is perhaps until they get there.