The Gathering Room Podcast with Martha Beck
Episode: Give "Tomorrow You" a Break
Date: November 13, 2025
Host: Martha Beck
Brief Overview
In this episode, Martha Beck delves into the concept of how we tend to outsource unwanted tasks to our "tomorrow" selves, often at the expense of joy and present happiness. Through personal anecdotes, spiritual insight, and live questions, Martha explores strategies for honoring "today you" instead of continually burdening "tomorrow you"—all while inviting listeners to track what truly brings them joy in daily life.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. The "Tomorrow Me" Trap
(Starts ~00:51)
- Martha found inspiration in a meme: "Tomorrow Me can do that—Tomorrow Me loves to do things.”
- She shares how this mindset caused her to overload her own schedule during work trips, promising herself she’d catch up on emails, writing, and more—only to end up avoiding it all.
- Quote:
"I'm always putting things on Tomorrow Me's schedule. Tomorrow me loves working out on the exercise bike. Tomorrow me loves studying Spanish for three hours… So I gave my first speech and… I was in this little tiny hotel room… I basically clung to my luggage rack all day without even moving." (03:00)
2. Body Doubling and the Power of Community
(04:30)
- Martha discusses the concept of “body doubling”—working in company with others, even virtually, to enhance focus and productivity.
- She references Rupert Sheldrake’s work, suggesting there could be a collective energetic field making tasks easier when others are involved.
- Quote:
"For some reason, the energy of other people working, just like the mice, makes me able to get through the maze in my mind that keeps me from working." (05:30)
3. Stop Abusing Your Future Self
(06:00)
- Martha recounts a decision-making moment helped by her partner, Ro:
"If you wouldn't want to do something today, don't condemn tomorrow you to that thing."
- This becomes a guiding principle throughout the episode—checking if your present self truly wants something before pushing it onto the future.
4. Challenging Puritanical Work Culture
(08:00)
- Martha critiques the cultural emphasis on self-denial in the present for a supposed payoff in the future.
- She suggests that “the consciousness of the universe” wants us to be happy, not perpetually burdened.
- Quote:
"If something feels good and you love it and you want to do it, do more of that. And if something feels awful… maybe don’t do that." (08:18)
5. The Track of Joy
(09:15)
- Martha shares the metaphor of “tracking joy” from her seminars in Africa:
“The track we're looking for… is the track of joy in the body.”
- She recommends regularly reviewing plans and activities to see if “today you” actually feels joy—or dreads them—instead of relying on a hypothetical, more motivated future self.
6. Practical Steps: Scheduling Joy
(11:30)
- Martha resolves to proactively schedule time for activities that bring her joy now—not just as a someday aspiration.
- She gives the example of building a meditation grotto near her home and planning regular time for it as a non-negotiable act of self-care.
7. Live Q&A with Listeners
(14:00 onward)
- Martha takes questions on adapting plans to menstrual cycles, dreading supposedly enviable opportunities, fields of connection, the nature of joy versus pleasure, professional boundaries with difficult clients, balancing creative work and income, silencing the inner critic, and honoring rhythms of solitude.
- Notable Quotes and Insights:
- On hormonal fluctuations and energy:
"Only promise something you could do on your worst day..." (14:49)
- On external expectations:
"Would you do it today? Became my big catchphrase… then I don't dread what's coming." (16:48)
- On morphic fields and parental influence:
"If the parent went to get therapy, the child's mental health improved, even if the parents were in their 80s... Anytime you make things better for yourself, everyone who loves you… are positively impacted." (18:28)
- On joy versus pleasure/attachment:
"Attachment times pain creates massive suffering, and detachment times joy brings massive amounts of joy." (22:12)
- On working with challenging clients:
"If your body doesn't like being around this client, you gotta acknowledge it... That compassionate witness you have inside you can watch your different parts..." (24:05)
- On making a living as a creative:
"Do what you love, period. And money will follow..." (26:00)
- On silencing the inner critic:
"We rebel. We just become traitors to misery… today, me was happy." (28:00)
- On being a recluse or needing solitude:
"I am a recluse. I am reclusive. It gave me such joy when I realized I want to be reclusive… The service happens through you, and it feels like joy." (30:00)
- On surrender and missing joy:
"Rest until you feel like playing and then play until you feel like resting. And don't ever make today self do anything different and don't make tomorrow self do anything different…" (31:45)
- On hormonal fluctuations and energy:
Memorable Moments
- Martha’s vivid description of sleeping on a luggage rack for eight days rather than working alone in a hotel room highlights how self-sabotage can be a form of self-protection.
- Ro’s “Would you want to do this today?” question becomes a recurring wisdom point throughout.
- The mouse maze experiment, illustrating collective learning, humorously supports Martha’s “energy of the group” theory.
- Martha’s candidness about turning down impressive opportunities others would covet, sharing how joy is personal rather than externally measured.
- Martha’s story of her son with Down syndrome, proudly declaring, “I did two things today. I don’t do three,” as a model for healthy boundaries.
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:51: The "Tomorrow Me" meme and personal anecdote about overloading future self.
- 04:30: The power of body doubling and collective focus.
- 06:00: Conversation with Ro and the principle of planning for what “today you” wants.
- 08:00: On challenging the puritanical work ethic.
- 09:15: Tracking the "track of joy" in daily life.
- 11:30: Scheduling self-care and joy, Martha’s grotto.
- 14:00-32:00: Listener Q&A including hormones, joy vs. pleasure, morphic fields, clients, creativity, and the inner critic.
- 30:00: Embracing reclusiveness and surprising bursts of service and creativity.
Tone and Takeaways
Martha’s warm, conversational style grounds even complex spiritual and psychological concepts in everyday life. She urges listeners to choose joy, honor present-moment preferences, and stop burdening the future self with tasks you’d never want today. Her approach is both practical (“if you wouldn’t do it today, don’t plan it for tomorrow”) and gentle, reminding us it’s not just okay but essential to curate a life that feels good now—not someday.
Key Quotes (with attribution and timestamp)
-
"If you wouldn't want to do something today, don't condemn tomorrow you to that thing."
— Ro (as quoted by Martha), (06:20) -
"I have made a whole career... by saying... if something feels good and you love it and you want to do it, do more of that."
— Martha Beck, (08:20) -
"Tomorrow me never gets here. So love yourself now, accept yourself now..."
— Martha Beck, (12:58) -
"Would you do it today? Became my big catchphrase... then I don't dread what's coming."
— Martha Beck, (16:48) -
"Attachment times pain creates massive suffering, and detachment times joy brings massive amounts of joy."
— Martha Beck (quoting Shinzen Yang), (22:12)
Conclusion
The episode frames a simple but transformative strategy for living with more authenticity and happiness: treat “today you” as the precious, present embodiment of your highest self, and let “tomorrow you” off the hook. By honoring what you know brings you joy now—and refusing to schedule what doesn't—you realign with purpose, ease, and deep well-being.
Podcast listeners left with:
A sense that the path to self-knowledge, spiritual happiness, and even productivity is rooted in cherishing and acting upon your present moment truth—not perpetually outsourcing it to a more “perfect” future self.