Kirk Nugent

Just For Today

Life is staring me down, Like Malcolm Gladwell waiting for me to blink

Everything is on the line and in this game of nerves, I’m trying hard not to flinch.

And just then I stop and think

That by the yard it’s hard, but inch by inch everything is a cinch.

And just by memorizing that one line, that one little rhyme

I’ve come to realize that the most effective way to eat an elephant

Is one bite at a time.

So I don’t have to be on point

No, not every day from June right back until May

All I have to do is manage my decisions…just for today

Just for today

I will prepare for my future

Because I know you either get good at sowing in the spring

Or begging in the winter

So today I’m keeping it moving like a marching band drummer

Because I know there will come a time when winter will ask

What have you been doing all summer?

Just for today I will walk in discipline and integrity

Knowing that if success is going to be a part of my reality

Then those two qualities have to be big to me

Because the man who lives without discipline dies without dignity.

Just for today I will face my fears and embrace my pain

Because I know that life is not about waiting for the storm to pass

But rather learning to dance in the rain…

So today I’m being steadfast

I’m not afraid of the forecast

No matter how thunderous the thunder blast

I am confident in the fact that this too shall pass.

So just for today I will choose to show no fear

Because I know that state of mind, determines state of affairs.

Just for today If I get knocked down nine times, ten times will I get up

Understanding that failure can never overtake me if my

Determination to succeed is strong enough.

Just for today I will prepare for my future, this will be my call to duty

Because I understand that preparation always proceeds opportunity.

And just for today I’ll embrace an ideology of possibility

Knowing that my income is directly related to my philosophy, not the economy.

Just for today I will stay clear of toxic relationships

I will not hear the words of the chronic complainer,

The energy drainer,

For they will poison, pollute and pervert my passion

Negative in every fashion

They’re a crusher of confidence

A cancer to the consciousness

If they’re twenty five, they tend to look twice as old

And they’re as filthy and as contagious as the common cold.

I am focused on going higher

So just for today I will stay clear of these spiritual vampires.

Just for today I will guard my mind

Allow it not to be influenced by the outside stress

Understanding that the greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressor

Is the mind of the oppressed.

Just for today I will pursue the desires of my heart,

Not adopting the philosophy of the crowd

Because I know I did not come to fit in

I was created to stand out.

And just for today I will walk by faith and go boldly towards my dreams

Knowing that some things have to be believed, in order to be seen.

Just for today I will manage my time in a manner that’s efficient

Understanding that future is always purchased with the present.

Just for today

Just for today I will be a master of my emotions

Not a victim of circumstance

Let others react but just for today I choose to respond.

Just for today I will display more compassion

Because we can never truly understand the people we hate

And we can never truly hate the people we understand.

So just for today I will learn to forgive somebody for something

Because I know that the worst memory is the one that remembers everything…

Sometimes you’ve got to look at your life

And make the difficult decision that just for today

I’m going to end this relationship that has long

Crashed and burned into the ground

After all a dead end street is a good place to turn around.

And it is better to be by yourself than to wish that you were

So just for today, not only be honest with yourself, be honest with her.

Just for today I’ll nurture the relationships that I’ve cultivated

I’ll go where I’m celebrated not where I’m tolerated.

Just for today I’ll be on a mission

Encourage a perfect stranger to, ‘Pursue your passion!”

Just for today, the woman that I love, I will assure her

Of how much I adore her

And it’s not even a matter of perception

Let her know that my thoughts are free to go anywhere

But it’s surprising how often they head in her direction

Remind her that the reason she’s the one I’m always talking about

Is simply because I love the way her name taste in my mouth.

So just for today…

I will manage these decisions

Like a good leader manages a team of personnel

Knowing that someday I will see the compounded

Results of several days lived well.

Written by Kirk Nugent May 2008

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