The free will to make decisions is one of the most vital aspects of the human condition. We are constantly confronted with the forks in life’s path that each choice presents: Should I postpone writing this essay for another day, or start now even though I don’t feel inspired? Should I eat that leftover Big Mac in the fridge, or take the time to cook myself a healthy meal? Most importantly, it is the consistent decisions made over time that shape enduring habits — the ones that determine the trajectory of a person’s life.
I have developed a mental tactic that I find useful for cultivating and protecting positive habits. It involves contemplating the fourth dimension — time — and the countless replicas of myself it continuously creates and discards. The “me” from an hour ago, a week ago, four years ago; the “me” two weeks or ten years into the future, or even tomorrow. Each represents a different self, frozen in either the past or the future. The essential difference between them lies in the fact that the future can still be thawed and reshaped, while the past remains permanently sealed — existing only in memory, serving as a reservoir of lessons.
A single day is the caricature parti diagram* of an entire life. If we think about it, life itself could be viewed as a single day replicated under varying external conditions — for as long as our genes and environment allow. By focusing on the nucleus of life — the day in repetition — we begin to realize that a fulfilling existence requires one to act as a comprehensive planner of the day1. The conscious and subconscious parts of the mind can only work in harmony when the former is able to program the latter through habit and repetition. Each day is like a blank canvas upon which one may craft the art of living through deliberate planning and structure. What this plan comprises of depends entirely on one’s personal pursuits — but the only essential rule is that it must not be squandered through idleness or indolence. One should be able to fully adapt to a plan — to write it down and follow it — yet remain flexible enough to revise it as time passes and one’s pursuits inevitably evolve. But the plan must always exist, lingering in the back of the mind, quietly enforcing progress as the unrelenting passage of time takes its course. This way, one does not reach the age of fifty with a sense of shock — “My God, how quickly it all went by; I hardly remember anything.” Instead, one should be able to say, “I’m fifty now — as expected. It’s no surprise. So far, I’ve done well. Now it’s time to plan the remainder carefully, so that my accomplishments and joys may deepen, and life may not feel as though it has been wasted.”
I chose the painting above by Marcel Duchamp, which depicts a figure descending a staircase through time, rendered according to modern Cubist principles, with multiple replicas of the same figure in motion. Painted and exhibited in 1912, this style was innovative and drew significant media attention at the time. While I am not particularly drawn to the philosophy behind the painting, I see it as a symbolic representation of the theme of this essay. I believe that certain visual cues in the mind can serve as powerful guides, helping one remain focused when applying long-term effort and discipline.
If you find yourself in a rut, where nothing seems to go well, do not despair. Sadness and hopelessness are precisely the emotions that the evil one seeks to instill in us. We must resist the temptation for melancholy with all our strength and mental faculties. Do not fall into defeatism, for there is always a second round — tomorrow morning. The moment of awakening, after a sufficient nights sleep, should be seen as the rebirth of one. Each morning, we are reborn into the world, with an entire day — indeed, life itself — stretching out before us. This day must be approached under the guidance of a plan and a schedule, with order and structure. Just as parallels and meridians impose order on the otherwise chaotic topography of the Earth, so too does a coordinate system — such as the constellations in the times of old— allow ships in the dark wilderness of the oceans to navigate and connect the new and old worlds, bringing progress and opportunity to us. Likewise, the day’s plan should be your personal constellation upon waking. Every minute ought to be under the supervision of these bright stars in the night sky.
When we begin to think of each day as a compressed version of life — and recognize that we are fortunate to have many of these experiences lined up, each a rebirth as described above — the consciousness of the mind comes into play. We become aware of this pattern: the “new me” tomorrow, the “new me” next year, and so on. Imagine all the days of a year as the various versions of yourself gathered inside a conference auditorium, with the current day’s you serving as the speaker and leader. You are responsible for the well-being of these other selves of you packed into the room. They observe every move you make today with a sparkle in their eyes, hoping that your actions will serve their benefit so that when their turn comes to live that one day of life, they begin their day with an advantage rather than inheriting the consequences of an underachieving or negligent predecessor of yesterday. You must lead these selves with the utmost care and diligence, you are their leader with full executive and legislative powers — for ignorance does not shield one from the consequences of indolence carried into the future selves.
*Parti is a term used by Western architects to describe the main or guiding idea of a design — the essence, often expressed in its simplest form. A well-distinguished architect and family friend once told me how his professor, Frank Schlesinger of Maryland, had said during a studio critique that an architect should be able to convey the main idea of even the most complex project in diagrammatic form on a 4-by-4-inch piece of paper. Thus, clarity of design intent — and the ability for its intricacies to remain coherent as one zooms in — becomes paramount.
Footnotes:
- Please read my essay on the importance of planning: https://sahinarikoglu.com/2024/09/12/advancing-our-being-through-planning/
Image Credits:
Şahin Kaya Arıkoğlu 