Just for Today – Opportunity for practice

Just for today – I will…

When things begin to overpower us, when we feel like we have so much to do that we can’t possibly cope with it all; if we are trying to make changes in our life and it is a difficult thing to do… then we can choose to do it… just for today!

Just for today, I will allow my brain to de-stress.  Just for today, I will be unafraid to think differently.  Just for today I will meditate.  I will pick one of my problems to work on just for today.  Just for today I will not try to fix up all of my problems in one go.

This way, we give ourselves an opportunity to try out new things without the pressure of taking it on board for a life time change.  If we like it, we may choose to do it again tomorrow.

When we are living through tough times, having an episode of depression or anxiety, then getting through just for today can be the difference between life and death.  Waking up each day can be the toughest thing we have to do that day.  Just for today, I will wake up and have a shower and a drink of water.  I will only think about today, and how to get to the end of today safely.

Just for today, I will live today only.  I won’t worry about the rest of my life and where I am going and how I will get there and who has hurt me yesterday and why I am not happy.  Just for today, I will live today.

This can also work for people trying to lose weight or get fit and they know they have a long way to go.  Just for today, I will park one street further away and walk.  Just for today I will choose to eat my healthy lunch.  When we think of dieting (or other behaviour change) it can be overwhelming to say.. “I am making a life long change”, it is particularly overwhelming when, like me, you have over 40kg to lose! That will take years and that is a very daunting overwhelming thought on day 1 of a diet.

I can feel it is’ all too hard’ to get motivated to change the rest of my life for ever and ever and see a whole new me!  BUT, I CAN muster up enough motivation to make smart choices for TODAY!  I like the freedom I have in understanding that each day I can make a new choice.  Each day I wake up fresh and able again to choose to park that little bit further away, just for today.  It also gives me the responsibility for my choices also.  I make a promise to myself and if I don’t stick to it, then no matter what else occurred, it was only me who didn’t stick to my promise to myself.  I take responsiblity for my actions.

This slogan says to us;

I am not weighed down by the bad experiences of the past; that was yesterday.

I am not weighed down by the heaviness of the choice that I must do this every day for the rest of my life; that is tomorrow.

I can make a choice to do the right thing today; for today.

Here are a few examples that you may want to try … JUST FOR TODAY

…To speak only kind words to myself

…To not gossip

…To think only about today, not stress over tomorrow

…To not nag (hard one for me)

…To tell my family I love them

…To help one person I usually wouldn’t help (yourself usually)

…To not ruminate over yesterday and think only about today

see how you feel at the end of the 24 hours and then see if you would like to do it again tomorrow!