There’s a song by rapper Wax called Tomorrow.
He sings about the major life changes he’s going to make: stop smoking, quit drinking, become more disciplined, and focus on improving his mental health.
But he’s going to do all of that… tomorrow.
However, that tomorrow never comes. He just keeps drinking, smoking, and wasting his life. Yet, every time he does, that’s totally okay and justified in his mind because he’s doing it for the last time. He’s just getting it all out of his system because tomorrow, everything is going to change.
But it never does. As he says: “I sing this song every night”.
How many times have you been in the same situation? How many times have you decided to completely change your habits and behavior, only to end your plans with “tomorrow”? Or “after the weekend”? Or “right after New Year’s”?
The problem with making life-changing plans is that we consider the act of planning as the first step. But it’s not. Planning is not doing.
Planning the perfect future, endlessly organizing your to-do list, preparing to start the next day right—these things are usually just a way of avoiding doing the hard work. You know, the work that actually starts the change.
Starting is more important than making a perfect plan. A few examples:
- Making a to-do list is easy. Doing one important task from it is harder.
- Finding the perfect workout app is easy. Going to the gym is harder.
- Watching a YouTube video is easy. Reading 10 pages of a book is harder.
We opt for making plans, motivating ourselves, and promising big changes because it’s much, much easier than the alternative.
Eating healthier today is harder than planning to start eating healthier next week. Going to sleep earlier today is much harder than promising to wake up early tomorrow.
Don’t get me wrong. Plans are important. Having a clear to-do list is good. Being motivated is great. But if you find yourself spending most of your time on promising things instead of delivering results, you’re lying to yourself.
The best way to get going is to make starting as simple as possible.
- Forget about making the perfect to-do list. Pick ONE task and do it today.
- Forget about finding the perfect app for tracking your workouts. Do ONE exercise before the day is over.
- Forget about trying to get motivated. Just START and motivation will come naturally.
Don’t think: “I’ll just continue with my bad habits today because, starting tomorrow, I will do everything perfectly.”
No, you won’t. You will inevitably fail. You will slip up. You will break. But that’s okay.
Actually, it’s more than okay—it’s expected.
Success doesn’t come from perfection. It’s not about making a big, important step at the right time. It’s a combination of small steps that eventually build up and make a difference. What’s good about small steps is that you don’t have to wait for the perfect moment to do them. That perfect moment will never come.
You can make all the excuses you want, but in the end, the only person you’re hurting is yourself.
Just like Wax, the biggest lie you tell yourself is “tomorrow”. So stop lying to yourself. Want to be better? Don’t talk about it. Don’t plan for it. Don’t get wait for inspiration.
Do one thing today that will bring you closer to your goal.
If you need help getting started, take a look at the Mind of Steel Handbook: The Essential Rules of Mental Strength.