Read This if You Keep Telling Yourself “Later”

Issue #96 - May 28, 2026

Author

Atiba de Souza
May 28, 2026

A few years ago, someone told me something that honestly scared me.

They said:

“The choices you’re making with your health today will show up 10 years from now.”

And when I first heard that…

it hit hard.

Because at that point in my life, if I’m being blunt…

I was obese.

Over 100 pounds heavier than I am today.

My biological age was older than my actual age.

My body felt terrible.

Low energy.
Inflammation.
Pain.
Brain fog.
Poor recovery.
All the things that come with carrying that much weight for that long.

And at the time…

I think I had normalized it more than I realized.

You know how we do that?

We adapt to feeling bad.

We normalize exhaustion.

We normalize stress.

We normalize waking up tired.

We normalize feeling “off.”

And eventually…

that version of ourselves starts feeling normal.

We tell ourselves:

  • “I’m just busy.”

  • “I’ll get healthy when things slow down.”

  • “Once this season passes, I’ll focus on myself.”

  • “I just need one good week.”

But “later” has a way of quietly becoming years.

That realization changed something for me.

Because for the first time…

I stopped thinking about health as:
“How do I feel today?”

And started thinking about:

“Who am I becoming 10 years from now because of what I’m doing today?”

That question changed everything.

And the wild part is…

I’m living proof of both sides of that equation now.

The bad choices from 10 years ago?

I still carry consequences from them today.

Even after losing the weight.

Even after getting healthier.

Even after lowering my biological age.

There are still physical reminders of what years of neglect did to my body.

That part doesn’t magically disappear.

And honestly…

that’s the part people don’t talk about enough.

We think health is temporary.

Like we can “undo” years of damage with a quick fix.

Eat bad? Just work out harder tomorrow.
Stress yourself into the ground? Take a vacation later.
Ignore sleep? Catch up on the weekend.
Burn yourself out? Recover next month.

But the body keeps score.

Quietly.

Incrementally.

Over years.

One thing I used to tell myself all the time was:

“I’ll just work off the donut later.”

Sounds reasonable, right?

Except… that’s not how the body works.

You don’t just “erase” choices.

Everything compounds.

Good or bad.

And I think this applies to way more than food.

It’s:

  • the sleep we’re not getting

  • the stress we’re carrying

  • the burnout we’re ignoring

  • the constant cortisol spikes

  • the lack of movement

  • the way we keep putting ourselves last

Because a lot of us have built lives where everyone else gets our energy first.

The business.
The clients.
The spouse.
The kids.
The deadlines.
The responsibilities.

And whatever is left over…

goes to us.

Usually not much.

I had a conversation recently with someone who told me:

“I just need a break.”

And honestly…

I think a lot of people feel that way right now.

Waiting for some future moment where life finally slows down enough to breathe again.

But the thing I told her was this:

You can’t keep postponing your peace.

If the life you want includes rest…

then rest has to start showing up now.

Not someday.

Because “paradise” isn’t a place you eventually arrive at.

It’s something you build into your life little by little.

The same way health is built.

The same way burnout is built.

The same way healing is built.

And I think one of the hardest truths for high performers to accept is this:

Your body eventually collects payment.

You can override exhaustion for a while.

You can ignore stress for a while.

You can sacrifice sleep for a while.

But eventually…

your body sends the invoice.

And by the time it does, most people realize they should’ve listened earlier.

That’s why I think health is one of the purest forms of long-term thinking.

Because most healthy choices don’t feel dramatic in the moment.

A walk doesn’t feel life-changing.

Sleeping earlier doesn’t feel life-changing.

Drinking more water doesn’t feel life-changing.

Working out today doesn’t feel life-changing.

But compounded over years?

Everything changes.

And maybe that’s the bigger lesson here.

A lot of the life we eventually experience…

comes from small decisions repeated consistently.

Not giant moments.

Not overnight transformations.

Small things.

Repeated long enough.

So maybe the real question isn’t:

“What dramatic thing do I need to do?”

Maybe the better question is:

“What small thing do I need to stop ignoring?”

Because whether we realize it or not…

we are building our future bodies, future energy, future health, and future lives right now.

One decision at a time.

If you want the deeper version of this conversation…

and want to hear the full story behind what changed my perspective on health…

watch the full video here. 👇

There’s more context to this than I could fit into one email.

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Just sharing a few things I’ve been thinking about lately:

Before you go—

What’s one thing you know you need to change right now…

that your future self is depending on you to change?

Reply and let me know.

Seriously.

I read every response.

And honestly, I think a lot more people are struggling with this quietly than we realize.

Sometimes the hardest thing isn’t knowing what to do.

Sometimes it’s finally deciding:

“I’m not going to ignore this anymore.”

And if this resonated with you…

share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Because sometimes the most important changes start with uncomfortable realizations.

— Atiba

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