Kindness to My Future Self

So…. I want to be honest. Sometimes it is so hard to get all of the things done. Maybe you work outside of the home. Maybe you work full time in the home. Maybe you’re a caretaker for toddlers, or teenagers, or your aging parents. There’s always laundry to do, menus to create, groceries to buy, meals to make. There’s snow to shovel (some years) or lawns to mow. That’s a lot of have-tos and it is exhausting. Then there are the want-tos. 

One of my big want-tos, of course, is Jiu Jitsu. Even though it’s something I want to do, there are parts of it that seem too much work after all the other things I have to do in a day. 
I recently read the book How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis. In this book the author talks about viewing the things we need to do in a different light. Instead of saying, I have to do this, or I should do that, and view it as a burden, the author suggests viewing it as a kindness to my future self. 

As I take this concept and apply it to Jiu Jitsu, I can look at things like studying videos outside of class or doing my mobility exercises as a kindness to my future self. I may be tired, but later when I come to class prepared and my joints awake and ready to go, I never regret it. I’m always glad I did it. By reframing the extra tasks as acts of service rather than chores, I’ve found a way to honor my need for both rest and preparation. It’s a shift from obligation to care that turns a heavy to-do list into a roadmap for better training. In the end, the future me is always glad that past me made the effort.