TODAY Matters

Last week, I wished you a week of taking stock of your own “movie” so far. I also wished you a week to begin to learn how to listen carefully to all the clues around you. How did that go and what did you learn about yourself? I hope these weekly questions at least give you pause and reflection as life get so busy that we often don’t take time for personal analysis.

It’s been an interesting week. What I mean by that is I am hearing frustration from some people when their clientele only want things handed to them despite an easy way to show their personal commitment and buy in. It’s listening to the “poor pitiful me” reasons why something didn’t work out yet that same person only complained and had no action to move forward. It’s hearing the constant stream of blame, complain, and defending one’s own actions but seldom a single gratitude statement of something that did go right.

In reading John Maxwell’s book, Today Matters, he referenced the children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Do you remember that one? Poor Alexander. His day seemed to be filled with obstacles, challenges, and setbacks. How often do you feel like that describes your day(s) exactly?

The question is, how often do you have great days? “Is it the norm or the rare exception for you? Take today, for example. How would you rate it? Up to this point, has it been a great day? Or has it been less than fantastic? Maybe that’s a question you haven’t even thought about until now. How would you rate your day on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being perfect), would you even know how to score it? Upon what would you base your rating? Would it depend on how you feel? Would it be determined by how many items you’ve checked off your to-do list? Would you score your day according to how much time you’ve spent with someone you love? How do you define success for today?”

Isn’t it true that everyone wants to have a good day, a successful day? However, would you also agree that not many people know what a good day looks like? I know I’m a list maker and I like to plan-ahead - I’m proactive vs. reactive. If I were to only judge the success of my day with what was checked off, that would only be a small portion of what a “good day” might look like for me. Would my score be different if I didn’t get done what was on my list but instead I helped-out a friend or had a long conversation encouraging someone who was feeling defeated? For me that would also be a good or successful day despite the lack of things checked off the to-do list. Isn’t what we’re talking about really what we’ve decided is our own personal definition of success?

According to John Maxwell, “People create success in their lives by focusing on today. It may sound trite, but today is the only time you have. It’s too late for yesterday. And you can’t depend on tomorrow. That’s why today matters. Most of the time we miss that.

Think about past successes and failures. Would you say that often times things look bigger in hindsight than they actually were? Think about the high school basketball or football star or class president. Are they the ones at the high school reunion that continually relive those “best-ever high school days?” They’re the ones that you realize have lived their entire life, since high school, looking back. What about the athlete that was Athlete of the Week because of a great performance on the field and the following week played awful. Instead of spending time reflecting on why the week went so well and duplicating those actions and efforts, they focus on all the positive attention. Then you have the 40 year old business person lamenting about all that he/she could have accomplished if it weren’t for the recession, or a bad boss, or living in the wrong area?

John has a sign on his desk that says, “Yesterday ended last night.” He states that it’s a reminder “that no matter how badly I failed in the past, it’s done, and today is a new day. Conversely, no matter what goals I may have accomplished or awards I may have received, they have little direct impact on what I do today. I can’t celebrate my way to success either.”

Let’s go back to God as the director of our movie, that he already knows the ending for each of us. Isn’t it then our job to figure out how everything relates to today. It’s my humble opinion, that like a movie script, we need an overall plan for our “story.” There may be some flashbacks but those times are to be used for reflection, learning, and adjusting, NOT to stay in the past. If we continue to hold grudges or not let go of something that a family member did to us, or not move forward after falling flat on our face with a project, or not take care of our health because “I can’t ever lose weight,” or thinking that you’ll never find the love of your life because you’re too old to find someone now, are all ways we are living in the past NOT today.

“One today, is worth two tomorrows; what I am to be, I am now becoming,” Benjamin Franklin. Everyone has the power to impact the outcome of his or her life. How? FOCUS ON TODAY!  Ok, that sounds trite and definitely easier said than done; however, NOTHING will change in your life until you change something you do on a DAILY basis. “Every day of your life is merely preparation for the next. What you become is the result of what you do today.”

It’s like those New Year’s Resolutions that most people have long forgotten by now. Just because you had one good week in the gym doesn’t mean that you can stop now. Just because you had one good week of sales doesn’t mean you can stop now. Just because you had one good game doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be in the gym or watching film again the next week. Just because you haven’t met anyone new for the past week doesn’t mean that you should quit trying to meet new people.

What you become is what you do today. The way you live your life today is preparing you for your tomorrow. So, what is it that you’re preparing for? “Are you grooming yourself for success or failure?” John Maxwell heard wise words from his father, “You can pay now and play later, or you can play now and pay later. Either way, you are going to pay. The idea was that you can play and take it easy and do what you want today, but if you do, your life will be harder later. However, if you work hard now, on the front end, then you will reap rewards in the future.”

“Most people don’t lead their own lives- they accept their lives.” John Kotter.  Many people approach their life passively. They take a reactive approach to living instead of a proactive one. If you’re reactive you end up focusing on repairing, but if you’re proactive, you focus on preparing. Which one are you? How do YOU approach each day?

According to John, there are two ingredients necessary to make every day a masterpiece: decisions and discipline. You could also all them “goal setting” and “goal getting.” They can’t be separated because one is worthless without the other.

TODAY is all you have. “The greatest gap in life is the one between knowing and doing.” Dick Briggs.

I wish you a week of making the most of each day and taking time at the end of each day to rate yourself on how well you were able to live in the moment – not living in the past or dreading the future.