A question I always wonder and constantly ask myself is, Why do I always need something to look forward to? The week will start, and it is Monday, but my first thought is I can’t wait for the weekend. Or I find myself planning events and trips, so I can say, Only 10 more days until I get to visit my friend. But why do we always do this? Is it because we are not content with where we are now? Or is it that looking for things in the future helps us not dwell on the past?
Any small thing that excites us helps us get through our daily life or something we do not want to be doing. But what if we did not think like that? What if we were just at peace with ourselves and had excitement about our lives where we are now? We need to be more conscious of living in the present by taking risks, doing the unexpected, and not waiting for the one thing we are holding onto to come around. A saying I like to remind myself of is, “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”
By having this mindset and focusing on our own well-being in the moment, we can become more at peace with ourselves and where we are going in life without the constant stress about the future or the sadness of regretting the past. Some ways I like to help myself do this are through daily journaling about gratitude, listening to music that motivates me, taking walks, and prioritizing my own needs before others. Sometimes, all we need in our lives is to focus on the now, and the rest will figure itself out.