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Tomorrow Can Wait

  • Writer: Deric Hollings
    Deric Hollings
  • 43 minutes ago
  • 6 min read

 

On the electronic dance music (EDM) anthology Pop Life (2007), the third studio album released by French DJ and record producer David Guetta, is the track “Tomorrow Can Wait” which features Chris Willis and DJ Tocadisco. Lyrics of the chorus state:

 

Live life here and now, tomorrow can wait

Dance all through the night, sleepin’ all day

Stuck inside a box, you gotta get out

Stand up, get up, live your life now, come on

 

Within the cited lyrics is a helpful form of demandingness regarding the preferential should statement “you gotta get out” of the proverbial box in which you find yourself. Interpretively, Willis encourages the listener to break free from the trappings of a “tomorrow” self-narrative.

 

This is a matter of procrastination (intentionally and habitually putting off or delaying actions). For example, I’d tell you more about procrastination within this blogpost, though it can wait until tomorrow. One obvious flaw in a delay of this kind is that tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us.

 

Thus, in my assessment of “Tomorrow Can Wait”, the listener is encouraged to consider that one preferably should get out of the axiomatic box of procrastination and live in this moment. When further contemplating this matter, I think of the psychotherapeutic modality I daily practice.

 

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

 

Authors of The Daily Stoic quote ancient Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius who stated, “You get what you deserve. Instead of being a good person today, you choose instead to become one tomorrow” (page 162).

 

Under the framework of procrastination outlined by Aurelius, suppose that one foregoes “good” deeds today in the hope of instead becoming a “good person” tomorrow. Then, one experiences a debilitating heart attack and instantly dies. This isn’t an uncommon outcome.

 

Alternatively, if one chooses to practice Willis’s helpful preference to “live life here and now, [because] tomorrow can wait,” then one will die doing “good.” Noteworthy, authors of The Daily Stoic also quote the Stoic philosopher Seneca who stated (page 162):

 

I don’t complain about the lack of time . . . what little I have will go far enough. Today—this day—will achieve what no tomorrow will fail to speak about. I will lay siege to the gods and shake up the world.

 

Seneca’s expression of a preference-based should statement is evident. It aligns with what Willis stated when inviting the listener to “stand up, get up, [and] live your life now.” Regarding this approach to rational living, authors of The Daily Stoic add (page 162):

 

We almost always know what the right thing is. We know we should not get upset, that we shouldn’t take this personally, that we should walk to the health food store instead of swinging by the drive-through, that we need to sit down and focus for an hour. The tougher part is deciding to do it in a given moment.

 

Tomorrow can wait. Realistically speaking, this movement can, as well. What is the “right thing” to do—actions which a “good person” would take, per your estimate—is what is worth considering. Then, the “tougher part” of “deciding what to do” will present itself.

 

Therein is the challenge to procrastination. Will you do what is “right” by breaking out of your proverbial box of procrastination, or will you simply put off for tomorrow what can be accomplished today? Regarding this matter, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 162):

 

What stops us? The author Steven Pressfield calls this force The Resistance. As he put it in The War of Art, “We don’t tell ourselves, ‘I’m never going to write my symphony.’ Instead we say, ‘I’m going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.’” Today, not tomorrow, is the day that we can start to be good.

 

“The Resistance,” or what I’m calling “procrastination” herein, is the figurative enemy of progress. Tomorrow can wait, for at any moment we may die. What you’d rather be doing in that instant and how you’d like to be remembered when that time comes is up to you. Time is ticking!

 

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

 

As the world’s foremost EDM-influenced REBT psychotherapist—promoting content related to EDM, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

 

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

 

 

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW


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References:

 

Daily Stoic. (n.d.). Translating the Stoics: An interview with “The Daily Stoic” co-author Stephen Hanselman. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/stephen-hanselman-interview/

Guetta, D. (2008, May 30). David Guetta - Tomorrow Can Wait (Official video) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/2zozfL2vf-U?si=g4z2FhiMldYHcFRC

Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

Hollings, D. (2025, June 17). Daily practice. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/daily-practice

Hollings, D. (2022, October 31). Demandingness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/demandingness

Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer

Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use

Hollings, D. (2024, May 17). Feeling better vs. getting better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feeling-better-vs-getting-better-1

Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better

Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/

Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching

Hollings, D. (2025, April 9). Perception, action, and will. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/perception-action-and-will

Hollings, D. (2024, July 10). Preferential should beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/preferential-should-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2023, September 15). Psychotherapeutic modalities. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapeutic-modalities

Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist

Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt

Hollings, D. (2024, May 15). Rational living. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-living

Hollings, D. (2024, April 21). Stoicism. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/stoicism

Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal

Hollings, D. (2025, October 20). When here and now crumbles and falls. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/when-here-and-now-crumbles-and-falls

Hollings, D. (2025, November 5). You gotta be better than the ones who precede ya. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/you-gotta-be-better-than-the-ones-who-precede-ya

Hollings, D. (2025, October 20). You need to stop. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/ you-need-to-stop

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Chris Willis. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Willis

Wikipedia. (n.d.). David Guetta. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Guetta

Wikipedia. (n.d.). DJ Tocadisco. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Tocadisco

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Marcus Aurelius. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Pop Life (David Guetta album). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Life_(David_Guetta_album)

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Ryan Holiday. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Holiday

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Seneca the Younger. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Younger

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Steven Pressfield. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Pressfield

Wikipedia. (n.d.). The War of Art (book). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_Art_(book)

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