I was three days into living at a monastery with eight monks, and I was losing my mind.
I’d gone there to work on my spiritual side after spending years focused on my physical fitness. I wanted to learn from the masters, so I committed to 15 days of total isolation—no phone, no contact with my family, just me in an 8x10-foot cell surrounded by monks who had been there for nearly 50 years.
By day three, I was done.
The clock felt like it was moving in slow motion. Every hour felt like a week. Sitting in that tiny room, my mind started racing: My wife probably hates me. She’s probably mad. My kids might think I abandoned them.
I was ready to pack up and leave. No one was forcing me to stay.
Then two words popped into my head that changed everything:
“Remember tomorrow.”
I asked myself, If I walk out right now, how am I going to feel about that tomorrow?
The answer was obvious. Like a quitter. Like someone who didn’t finish what he started. Like someone who walked out before seeing the end of the movie.
Those two words—Remember tomorrow—became tattooed on my brain.
Now, whenever I face a split-second decision, I ask myself that same question. Don’t want to go for a run today? Fine—but how will I feel about that tomorrow? Want to skip the extra sales calls because everyone else is at happy hour? How will that feel tomorrow when someone else gets the deal?
It’s such a simple tool, but it’s powerful. Because tomorrow is coming either way. You might as well arrive there feeling good about the choices you made today.
I stayed the full 15 days.
When I finally got in the car to leave, the driver asked how I felt. I thought I’d say “relaxed” or “peaceful.”
Instead, I said “proud.”
And those two words—Remember tomorrow—have guided more decisions in my life than any business strategy or life hack.
Because when tomorrow arrives, you’ll be living with the choices you made today.
