Live for Today or Plan for Tomorrow

 

It’s an age old dilemma. What do you do? Live for today or plan for tomorrow?  People the world over have struggled to achieve what they believe to be the right balance, but often that involves bouncing between extremes. For some, it means focusing on the present with no regard for the future. For others, it means sacrificing today for the sake of tomorrow. At 100 Year Lifestyle we have always focused on a long-term lifestyle, yet we’ve never sacrificed—nor suggested that you sacrifice—today. In fact, at 100 Year Lifestyle living for today is planning for tomorrow. Let’s break that down.

The Best of Everything, Everyday!

It is possible to live a lifestyle that is both enjoyable and healthy. You can make decisions that are good today, and good tomorrow. It is possible to balance the desire for immediate gratification with the desire for a secure and healthy future. All this is possible with a long-term perspective. Luckily, the 100 Year Lifestyle way is all about having the best of everything, everyday! What you might need to do is re-examine your definition of “the best!”

Instant Gratification and the Gifts of Life

Blogger and author Leo Babauta points out that we don’t have to deprive ourselves of good things in life in order to achieve balance. He says that “instant gratification leads to debt, clutter, bad health, distractions, and mindlessness.” By adapting a lifestyle of conscious decisions that are guided by our vision of our future, not controlled by television commercials, salespeople, what our neighbors have, or our unbridled-if-left-unchecked sweet tooth, we receive what Leo calls “all the gifts of life.” He lists those gifts as simplicity, health and fitness, focus, achievement, mindfulness, and appreciation. 

While instant gratification sounds good, it is rarely a good decision, in the short-term or long-term. The fact is, instant gratification comes—and goes— in an instant. It leaves you feeling dissatisfied and can lead down the path of obsessive behavior and addiction. Too much of this and your day, your week, your life, become filled with frustration and, possibly, desperation.

The Right Decision Today…and Tomorrow

At 100 Year Lifestyle we don’t tell you not to eat sweets. We suggest you find foods that you enjoy and maintain a healthy diet as your lifestyle. We don’t tell you to work until you drop at retirement age, pushing your body, mind, and spirit beyond their limits. Instead we suggest you look at what brings you joy and either make that a side hustle, plan for early retirement, or don’t plan to retire at all. Creating the life you love today, and will love tomorrow, actually involves the same decision making process. A right decision today, in this moment, is almost always a right decision for your future as well. 

Long-Term Vision

All this month we will be exploring The 100 Year Lifestyle and key components of your life today: finances, work, the planet, and society. If you’re still searching for balance, if you don’t have a long-term vision, then this series of articles is for you. It’s time you start living your 100 Year Lifestyle. 

Still don’t believe that the decisions you make today, for yourself and your loved ones, are important? Need some motivation? Read about The 100-Year-Old Woman Who Died at 82. Then find the help you need to start living at 100% for 100 years. The 100 Year Lifestyle is the right decision for you today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life! The best can be yet to come!