Every day, we make plans for the future. We plan so many things that will happen and that we will do. Once we retire, once we lose weight, once we have a relationship, once we get promoted or once we achieve this or that.
But how wise is it to let our happiness depend on the future? Do we actually know what will happen?
We can think that we will have time to spend with our family after we retire or that we will finally be able to go on vacation once we get that new job. But we can’t actually know that.
Life is, ultimately, unpredictable. Sometimes, we will get lucky or unlucky enough to get exactly what we wanted. However, just as easily, there can be more and more unexpected factors that make our plans impossible.
This doesn’t mean that we should give up on planning at all – long-term goals are useful and inspiring. But we should not defer our happiness until something happens. It might never happen.
Don’t postpone the things that bring you the most joy. Try to make them part of your life today.
Start living today.
Take it day by day – all we are guaranteed is the present, the current moment, the here and now. Tomorrow might come or not, so it’s not worth it to simply put everything off for later.
Later might not come. You might want something different later. Learn to enjoy the here and now.
Take a moment to recognize all the good things you have. Take time to stop and enjoy whatever you are doing. Feel the happiness of granting yourself the small pleasures that make life worth living.
Spread the happiness and give other people some of your time today. Don’t think that things will stay the same – enjoy everything the present has to offer you right now.
Your goals are important, but so is the happiness you can find right away. Putting things off until later can mean that you will never get to enjoy them now, so allow yourself to be content with what you have right now.
“The eternal life is given to those who live in the present.”
