In a previous post, I talked about prioritising later (The One Rule). It is a mindset that tells you to act today in service of your future self. That idea is excellent. It’s one of the clearest ways to build a meaningful life: make choices now that your future self will look back on and say, “Thanks for that.”

But here’s the tension:
What about you right now?
What happens when all your life becomes preparation for some later day that never seems to arrive?

This is the tug-of-war we all live in.
One rope is tied to the future. The other is anchored in the now. And the tension between the two is the whole point.

You’re not meant to find some perfect balance and hold it forever. That’s a myth.

You’re meant to feel the tension and respond to it.

Sometimes that means pulling yourself out of indulgence and saying, “Time to get disciplined.”

Other times, it means letting go of the grind and saying, “I’m allowed to enjoy this.”

The key is not perfect balance; it’s honest correction.

Because the truth is, life moves in waves. We drift. We overcorrect. We sprint. We stall.

And that’s okay, as long as we notice it.

The danger isn’t being off-course.

The danger is staying off-course without realizing it.

If you always delay gratification, you risk never actually experiencing joy. You’ll be chasing a future that keeps moving the finish line.

If you always indulge the moment, you risk waking up one day with no foundation for the life you wanted to build.

The trick is this:

• Prioritising later is a gift to your future self.

• Enjoying the now is a gift to your present self.

  And the healthiest lives aren’t lived on one side—they’re lived in the tension between both.

That tension will stretch you. That’s good. That’s where growth lives.

Knowing yourself helps.

• If you’re more cognitive, you may naturally default to the long game and avoid the now.

• If you’re more emotionally sensitive, you may remain rooted in the moment and neglect the future.

But neither side is the whole truth. You need both. And chances are, you’ll need to work harder in the direction that feels less natural.

This isn’t a one-time decision.
It’s a continual awareness.
A regular gut-check.

A practice of asking:
Have I been living too much for tomorrow and forgetting today?
Or have I been living too much for today and ignoring tomorrow?

When you hold that tension well, life feels full. Present and purposeful. Grounded and growing.