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Week 40!  It’s starting to get hot here in Baltimore, and that fact definitely influenced my blog topic this week.  Here’s why:

A) I am not a big fan of the heat.  I am even less a fan of hiking in the heat.

B) I don’t bring Kirbs on the hike if it’s going to be for 80 degrees Fahrenheit or above.

So the goal with this week’s hike was to hit the trail at around 6am, before the heat started to build up into the forecasted nineties.  I would set my alarm for 5am and bang the hike out, then come back and nap if need be.  Now, typically when I know my alarm is going off that early, I make my prior evening plans to allow me to get to bed around 8 or 9 so I’m asleep by 9 or 10.  Then it’s not so painful when the alarm goes off the next morning.

Week 40 VioletDid I do that this time?  No.  I went to a friend’s to watch a movie and didn’t end up getting to bed until after midnight.  “You are going to be mad at yourself in the morning” I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

Guess what?  I was SUPER pissed at myself when the alarm went off the next morning.  Yesterday Me had totally screwed Today Me.  Dragging myself out of bed and getting ready for the hike was beyond painful and I sorely regretted the way I had chosen to spend the previous night.

It’s the age-old battle between instant gratification and long-term thinking.  It’s the  “I’ll have fun now – not do this annoying task today – worry about it later” kind of thinking that always ends up biting me in the you-know-what.  Sometimes literally, as it turns out.

Last week my stomach was a little upset in general.  I thought about taking some toilet paper and a plastic bag with me on my hike in case I found myself in trouble on the trail.  “Nah,” I thought, “I’ll make do.”

Well, I ended up making do, alright.  The Me that ended up having to use a bunch of old receipts and leaves to clean myself up with was pretty annoyed at the Me that decided it wasn’t worth the trouble of packing toilet paper that day.

Here’s why this is so important: it’s really a self-care issue that ends up self-perpetuating itself – either in a good way or a bad way.  We make decisions every day about what and how much we eat or drink; how much sleep we get, how much exercise we give our body, what we let our eyes watch on TV, what we read and listen to…you get the idea.  And all of those decisions have an impact on our future selves, whether in subtle or not-so-subtle ways.

Week 40 Trailhead Down the RiverI have a hard time for some reason reminding myself of the importance of Tomorrow Me.  Unfortunately, what this telegraphs to Tomorrow Me is a message of self-neglect.  I wake up the next morning and am already behind the eight-ball because I don’t feel cared for…by myself.  What a great way to start the day!  Not.

But when Today Me makes good decisions that affect Tomorrow Me, I wake up feeling AWESOME.  I wake up excited to think of new ways to make Tomorrow Me happy all over again.  And this works for all versions of me, no matter what the time difference is.

This year Morning Me started making my bed so that Evening Me would come home to an inviting place to rest.  It feels great!  Morning Me has been pretty faithful, and that helps Evening Me want to be faithful, too.  Evening Me is responsible for keeping my gratitude journal, spending some time reading something that feeds my spiritual self, and not emotionally eating.  When Evening Me is faithful, Morning Me wakes up super happy.

The trick with the different time versions of you is to NOT condemn earlier versions of you when they let you down.  Just start fresh with the NOW version of you.  Keep looking forward, because we all know that there’s not a darn thing you can do to go back and change Yesterday You.  You can only influence Tomorrow You.

It kind of all comes back to being PRESENT with yourself.  I know, this is a lot of tenses.  Stay with me.

Week 40 Red Legged Tiger Moth

When you are present with yourself,  you are in the moment and you can ask the question:  is the activity I am about to participate in going to make Tomorrow Me happy?  Or will I end up feeling depressed, regretful, and frustrated with myself?  Will I wake up feeling empowered or already defeated?

We have SO MUCH POWER to influence our own lives in the direction we want to go in.  The self-care component touches and affects everything.  I’ve already written about the difference a good self-care routine can make in how you show up in the dating world.  When you are caring for you, you naturally shine brighter in the world.

So this week, ask yourself, what can Today Me do to help Tomorrow Me get the best start on the day?  What gift can you give yourself today that you will open tomorrow?

Let me know what you come up with in the comments section below and have an AWESOME week!!!!  (And why yes, that IS a Pink-legged Tiger Moth in the picture above!  Good guess!)

 

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