The idiom “like there’s no tomorrow” means to act recklessly and enthusiastically without considering the consequences. It can have positive or negative connotations and is often used as a compliment for living in the present. However, it can also be criticized for ignoring the future. The expression has permeated popular culture and appears in titles of songs, albums, and books.
To do something “like there was no tomorrow” is to do it with reckless abandon and enthusiasm, regardless of the consequences. This common English idiom draws on a long tradition of thinking about recklessness and consequences. “Like there’s no tomorrow,” like other similar expressions, has both positive and negative connotations.
To say that someone does something “as if there were no tomorrow” can mean that they do it with energy, but also that they do it regardless of the consequences. “Tomorrow” in this expression serves as a symbol of the future in general, in which the consequences of present actions will become clear. Acting “as if there were no tomorrow”, therefore, means behaving as if the effects of one’s actions were never felt.
In modern English, this is often used as a compliment. A related expression, “live each day as if it were your last,” urges the listener not to let fear of future consequences deter her from pursuing activities that will give her pleasure, although it can also be interpreted as a reminder to listener that it is vital tasks must not be delayed. Either way, it suggests admirable attention to the present, neither worrying about the future nor procrastinating. Those who live life like there is no tomorrow, in this building, are liberated free spirits who show a healthy disregard for the future and serve as an example to others.
Not all uses of this expression are admirable. Describing someone who does something “like there’s no tomorrow” often involves a little implicit criticism. Tomorrow, after all, always comes, whether we act as if it wants to or not. This critique reflects a more general ambivalence about the distracted enthusiasm often associated with young people: at the same time we envy those who act with ‘live in the present’, while being aware of the dangerous effects this type of behavior can have in the long run.
Because of its prevalence as an expression in modern English, “like there’s no tomorrow” has permeated popular culture. It appears as the title of a large number of works, including songs or albums by Selena Gomez, Justin Moore, Freddie Mercury, Aaron Tippin, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, Mary Jane Kelly and others. Likewise, it appears in the titles of books on subjects as diverse as cooking and funeral planning.
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