Do you ever find yourself "some-day-ing" your life away?
When you're in high school, you're looking forward to college. When you're in college, you're looking forward to starting your career. Once you start your career, you look forward to buying a house, then getting a promotion, then having a baby, then having a second baby, then renovating your kitchen, it goes on and on and on...
I know I have been guilty of this so many times. It's human nature to look ahead, and planning is a great skill to have, but it becomes a problem when you realize that you're wishing your life away, never living in the moment.
I think that one of the most important things we can do in life is to find joy in the everyday. Right here. Right now. Today.
I say "joy" rather than "happiness" because I think that it represents more of a way of looking at life, rather than a fleeting emotion. Living a joyful life is a choice.
That means whatever situation you're in, take a look at it, and find joy in it. I know that it can be really hard. Maybe you're working at a job you hate, or you're not happy with your body at the moment, or you're living in a less-than-ideal apartment. It's really tempting to just ignore the present, and focus on the dream-land fantasy of how amazing life will be when you finally have that "thing", whatever that thing is for you. But I promise you, once you have it, you will set your sights on something else. That's the way it works.
My personal trick to be at peace with the way my life is right now? I practice having an attitude of gratitude. Being a Christian, all it takes is a simple prayer thanking God for everything that I have to make me realize how blessed I am and how amazing and beautiful this imperfect life of mine is.
Try it - pray, or make a list in your head (or on paper) of what you're thankful for every day. Or at least when you're feeling anxious about your current situation. I promise, it works. xo!
This is such an inspirational post! I've been having very similar thoughts lately.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lena! :)
DeleteThis post is timely for me. I was just talking about this with my husband. I feel like I was holding out on doing things throughout my twenties probably because I figured that as I got older and things changed I'd be able to things that I wanted to do. But turns out when you get older you realize that you actually have to DO the things to make the changes. Ha ha! Oh well, life is funny like that. :)
ReplyDeleteSo true! haha Thanks for reading!
DeleteVery insightful post! I definitely find myself living in my ideal vision of the future too often, instead of the present. That's something I know I need to work on.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah! It's hard, but I think just being aware of being present more often is the first step. :)
DeleteThese are such wise words. Having my son, Alexander, is what finally taught me to live in the present. Everyday he does or learns something new, and his wonder and excitement is so amazing to watch. Little kids are great at living in the present and we could learn a lot from that! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so awesome. :) I hope to have little "teachers" of my own some day!
DeleteI love this message but couldn't find the print on your website. Is it still available?
ReplyDeletethank you! I don't actually have a print that says this yet, but I will try to design one soon! :)
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