Flourishing, Fulfillment, & Living Well
Enjoy More of Your Life by Proving “Someday” Exists
How to put an end to existential procrastination.
Someday: the unofficial day of observance for tasks and activities we like to talk about but put aside until later. We envision accomplishing many goals on this glorious day, but we can’t pinpoint when it will occur. Maybe it will be tomorrow. Or sometime next year. Or maybe five years from now.
I hate to tell you this, but without a plan of action or an “X” on a calendar, it may as well be a myth. Like the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot, we have no proof that someday exists. This means many of us are deferring our dreams for a day that may never come.
One of These Days, Maybe . . .
We all have reasons for putting things off. We may tell ourselves that we’re too busy focusing on careers. We may lack confidence in our abilities or fear the unknown of new pursuits. Some of us have become comfortable with ruts and routines, assuming we have plenty of time to do great things.
We put off traveling, going back to school, starting a business, creative hobbies, and self-care practices because we do not view them as essential. Ironically, these are the things that expand our lives and give it meaning.
Whatever the reason, putting things off until someday keeps us living small. Not only does it keep us from living large, but it also keeps us from living well. Whether we are living well is determined by the quality of our experiences. Living well happens when we connect with our highest goals and plan our lives around them.
Centering on Happiness as Our Highest Goal
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, wrote about eudaimonic happiness. He described it as a state of flourishing and well-being. He explained that every human activity aims at some desirable end. But happiness is self-sufficient because it is the highest end. This suggests everything we do is for the sake of happiness.
If we apply this philosophy to our modern lives, it raises questions about our priorities. It challenges the mindset of hustle culture, which pushes happiness to the edge of glorified workaholism. Self-care, leisure, discovery, and growth have become secondary — even tertiary — to the grind.
But what if we placed happiness at the center of our lives? In the vein of Aristotle, what if we considered it as an element of every pursuit? Would our lives look the same? Would we hold the same jobs? Would we use our vacation days? Would we be more creative? Would our dreams become plans?
Today is a Great Day for Flourishing
Author Janet Dailey is known for the famous quote, “Someday is not a day of the week.” Her point is well taken. Someday is a myth that makes us feel better about putting things off because it keeps our dreams alive.
But waiting until someday is like living in a perpetual meantime. We are waiting indefinitely for an unplanned future event. If no one else has said it, I am going to suggest that it is existential procrastination. And studies suggest it is an affront to our future selves.
Flourishing should be an inherent aspect of all our activities. Many of us would be happier if we didn’t view it as a pie-in-the-sky pursuit, putting it off until we “have time.” If we don’t make time to flourish, our future selves will absorb the consequences of not choosing to live well.
So take a small step toward proving someday exists. Order a travel brochure. Write the first line of a poem. Go to YouTube and learn your first yoga pose. Read an article about going back to school later in life. Or listen to a podcast about starting a small business.
Tomorrow is not promised, and neither is someday. Therefore, we should seek to be happy now and enjoy each day.
Choose to live well. Our future selves will thank us.
Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
— Author Unknown
