Your Past Matters: Yesterday Will Be The Reason You Survive Today
I’m tired,
Nothing in me wants to write.
My eyes are heavy,
I’ve been unable to focus since 15:00 p.m.
But something happened.
In the last five minutes, my mindset shifted.
It’s 18:35 p.m.
And I’m sitting at the desk in the midst of writing, inspired and excited to give.
You might be wondering:
How did my mindset go from throwing in the towel to firmly gripping onto hope with both hands?
Well,
I didn’t do anything.
Well, at least not the present me.
It was the seeds I sowed yesterday that allowed me to eat the fruit today.
But I had no idea that it would work out like this.
I had no intention of turning an unfavourable situation around.
I had no intention of raising my hopes.
I had no intention of providing for the future me.
I simply worked hard.
And not just the bare minimum, I went above and beyond.
Monday, July 24, 2023
Day 24 of writing three pieces every single day of the month
I sat down at my desk at 17:20 p.m.
I’ve been flicking between my phone and my laptop for the past hour.
Whether it was manga, social media, or refreshing my messages,
I’ve done it all.
I’ve checked the time over 30 times.
I said I would start at 17:45 p.m.
Then 18:00 p.m.
Then 18:15 p.m.
Then 18:30 p.m.
And in all honesty, the factor that tipped the scale was my younger cousin's footsteps approaching from the hallway.
That’s what coerced me into switching into work mode.
I didn’t want to do this.
I’ve considered every single excuse under the sun.
I considered how long it takes me to write and what time I could viably procrastinate until.
I even thought of telling my editor I felt ill in hopes of some gracious lenience — now that was my worst idea yet.
The point is, my mindset was locked into quitting.
I was already struggling to find an idea every day when I wanted to write!
What now?
I was mentally and creatively drained.
There was no way.
I couldn’t.
There was no light at the end of the tunnel.
But then I remembered.
Yesterday, I wrote an additional idea down!
There was no heavy lifting to do.
There was no uphill battle.
There was no struggle.
I’d done it already.
I had hope!
All I had to do was ride on the coattails of my past commitment.
All of that hard work was for days like this.
Days when you can’t find hope for yourself,
Days when life just gets the better of you
Days when the odds are stacked against you.
So,
Work hard now.
Be your everything when everything is going well.
Push yourself when you have the strength to,
It’ll take a hell of a load off when you’re at your lowest.
When you can’t see a way,
Those seeds of hard work are for days like this.
The next time someone asks me how I seem to never have lows,
I’ll tell them,
I do.
But I worked harder during my highs.
So, whenever I faced a low, I could smile and think,
It’s For Days Like This.
LM
Thank you for reading!
American psychologist Alok Konojia, or ‘HealthyGamerGG’, says:
“The absence of reflection is the reason you’re stuck.”
To solidify our growth, let’s reflect:
Petrichor’s 1-Minute Reflection:
- How did you feel before reading?
- How did you feel whilst reading?
- Do you feel any different now that you’ve finished?
- What is your one takeaway from reading this?
