Today Is A New Day And So Is Tomorrow

That is a line from the movie "Mississippi Grind" starring Ryan Reynolds. I watched it last night on the recommendation of KenJac in his blog about what you should stream this week. Check it out here. Although this is a gambling movie, I hadn't seen it before last night. First let me say, if you haven't watched Mississippi Grind, find some time to do so. It's a movie that is excellent, regardless of whether or not you gamble. 

The movie reverberated with me for a few reasons. First I saw myself and Lo Duca in various parts of Curtis and Gerry. I can't say that one of us is more like a character than the other, because we definitely each have traits of both. I will say, when they're at the dog track after a big win and Curtis wants to leave and Gerry is willing to bet on whether the next guy to leave the men's room is wearing glasses in order stay...that's Paulie. 

Either way, the movie does an amazing job of nailing the problems, faults and the mindset of a gambler. Without giving spoilers, you learn that while gambling can have a lot of negative connotations to it, the one trait that we share is optimism. Gamblers are generally optimists. The title of this blog comes from a scene in the movie where Ryan Reynolds says "Tomorrow is a new day and so is the next day." and he couldn't be more right. If I lose a Pick Five, well tomorrow is a new day. It's a new opportunity. It's a clean slate.

I thought that this particular mindset could be useful to anybody who is struggling with the situation we're currently in. It's tough. It's abnormal and nobody knows what tomorrow holds. But the one thing it definitely holds is opportunity. It holds promise. Maybe we can't go to the office. Maybe we can't socialize like we normally do. But try to find some time to do something you wouldn't ordinarily do. Maybe you wanted to get better at that guitar sitting in the corner of your bedroom. Maybe you wanted to read a book, but always found something better to do. Maybe you want to learn a language. Hell, I don't know, maybe you want to bet on horses and watch movies at 1am. Either way, just realize that each day is a new opportunity.

We gamblers have a lot of personality flaws, but one thing we don't lack in is seeing opportunity. We see it in each day, in each roll of the dice, in each opening of the starting gate. Maybe that mindset can be useful in times like this. In any event, go watch Mississippi Grind, I think you'll like it.