Tomorrow and Today

People often say: I'll be better tomorrow, tomorrow I will change, tomorrow is another day, tomorrow, tomorrow, and so on... But is tomorrow really tomorrow? Or tomorrow will always be tomorrow?

I said to myself that tomorrow I will be the person I was a month ago: responsible; studious; athletic; leader; someone who cooks his own food; in short, my ideal self. The problem is that I have been saying this to myself for a month already. The results, as expected, were failures.

Hence a new question arises: what is the difference between tomorrow and yesterdays' aspirations in  being my ideal self again? It think the difference is not the dream to be ideal but the series of actions I do in order to attain my aspirations.

For the past few weeks, I just "hoped" to be better tomorrow. Hope in this context means just dreaming. But since Thursday, this "hoped" became a real hope. It is no longer a statement stating "tomorrow I will be..." but "today, at this moment, I am going to..." And I believe that is real hope. Hope is not statement, it is an act. An act which aims towards your hope. Hope is never static. On the contrary it is dynamic; continuously moving towards a goal.

Tomorrow, I will be an athlete again. Last week I was planning to quit the taekwondo varsity team rationalizing the benefits it will give me if I do quit such as time, energy, etc. But I questioned myself, "Will it be really beneficial for me to quit my art? My martial art?"

I arrived to a decision that I will continue. I will continue not because of its benefits but because I want to continue. Period. But then again, I asked myself, "Can I really be the person I was a month ago?"

Can I wake up again every four in the morning to prepare my breakfast, snack, and lunch for school; leave home by 5:15am and train by 6 to 8 am? Study till 11pm and wake up again by 4vam? Can I still do that?

I said to myself, "Of course, I can do that! I once did it!"

Looking back, yesterday I run around the village to check if my injured knee can already cope up with the stress taekwondo will give. Moreover, I cooked and ate a delicious dinner: unagi, brown rice, and grapefruit juice. Then, this morning I woke up by 7am to go to my law school review class. After that, I studied, went to church, went to the grocery, prepared this week's food, and cooked dinner. I also finished preparing tomorrow's school clothes, taekwondo gi, and toiletries. Based on these acts, I think I can be myself again tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I will be my self again.

But can I really do it? Can I wake up later by 4 am in the morning?

Yes I can! Because my hope is not just a mere hope but hope with action. Through this experience, I may say that tomorrow can't be done without acting today. Because if you will not act today, tomorrow will always be tomorrow.

God did not create the world in just a day. He needed seven days. Same with me, I can't become another person tomorrow by an instant. It needs gradual changes of today.

Yesterday is yesterday but tomorrow will always be today if we want to realize what we want to happen tomorrow. Thus, I may say that I have done it already - to be myself again.

I think tomorrow will not be about becoming myself again but it will living myself again!


Do not put off tomorrow what you can do today.