Are you ready for tomorrow?

As the tendrils of creative thought continue to seemingly leach out of my being, I pause to think of tomorrow. Tomorrow. The first day of the rest of my life. Tomorrow - tabula rasa. Carte blanche. An as of yet unwritten story, a blank canvas with which I can do anything I please. Do anything, create anything, seize the day! The Roman poet Horace was the first to say "carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero" which translates as "seize the day, putting as little trust as possible in the future".

That last part is interesting and we don't often hear it (read: I'VE never heard it before). Let's think about it for a few moments...
We don't know what the future will bring - True
Anything can (and most likely will) happen - True

Instead of putting a negative spin on this, I try to look at the future through a positive lens. Why not try to embrace this notion that tomorrow never knows? Embrace this ambiguity and relish the opportunity? Tomorrow is an as of yet unsolved puzzle. What's stopping us from approaching this puzzle with the inquisitive nature of a child?

Perhaps you're asking yourself "Ian...what are you getting at?"...well, I'm trusting my process. Stick with me and let's see if I can bring my thoughts together before my laptop runs out of power.

With tomorrow comes the unknown. The uncontrollable. However, we can control our actions and reactions. We don't know what people will think of the zany way we may choose to do things - but that's okay! There's evidence to suggest that it takes four positive comments to counteract one negative one. Four positives to one negative...just to break even! That doesn't take away the negative comment but merely gives us the impetus to move past it without feeling the need to judge our own choices. Why pay any credence to the negativity? Start today. Start now and learn how to listen and accept constructive criticism without becoming afraid to take action. Don't be afraid of imperfection. The maxim 'practice makes perfect' is grounded in reality. We cannot control others around us but we can have a positive influence on them. Don't just think positively, speak and act positively. Brand yourself as a negative person and people will stay away from you. Brand yourself as a positive person and you don't know where it might lead, but people will pick up on your positivity and it will spread whether you are aware of it or not.

So here I sit - thinking of tomorrow. I'm still unsure of what will come but then I think of these creative tendrils. These threads of conversation and ideas I've been sharing recently. I've noticed something entirely unexpected and interesting, that people have started coming to me and saying -

"Something you said last week in our conversation inspired me to..."
"Based on what you mentioned the other day, I did some research and found...."
"That concept of 'suspending judgement' really resonated with me and we've started to..."

The common element to each of these statements was that they were concluded with something positive. A new and interesting perspective that, although not complicated, hadn't been seen before. This wasn't an intention of mine, I merely stumbled into the study of creativity and enjoy talking about it. I could discuss it for days, in fact. What strikes me, however, is that people are taking this creative yarn that I seem to be spinning and weaving it into something productive for their own use. I started this blog for myself, to develop my writing style and my voice - to modify my own self imposed restraints and increase my creativity and yet I couldn't be more ecstatic about this unexpected by-product! It's been a very enjoyable experience to say the least.

Mahatma Gandhi said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." augment this with something a wise friend recently pointed out ..."life is like driving a car in the snow...when you start to slide, look where you want to go, not where the slide is taking you.".

So what what of tomorrow? I have no idea..but I'm excited! I’m awaiting the fun and I’m confident that I’ll be able to make things happen. I'm ready to wake up with a smile on my face, eager to great the unknown. I'm looking forward to jump into the deep end of ambiguity with both feet. Are you excited for tomorrow?