Be in the Present

I recently released an episode of my podcast Good Thoughts with Gabe that was structured around the idea of confining ourselves to the present and living each day to the fullest. I realised that this is something we blatantly ignore because we have been conditioned to always be future-focused and we tend to not enjoy and embrace the little moments that we have in the present.

Click the button below to listen to my podcast

Good Thoughts with Gabe

Marcus Aurelius has told us to be confined to the present, and for good reason - focusing only on the future will not be entirely fulfilling because once we reach there and remember all those little things that we missed out on, we will have more regrets than gratitude.

Most of my life has been future-focused - planning where I want to live, the job that I would love to have, thoughts about my "perfect partner" - and at some point I realised that in doing all of this, I am actually missing out on so much that I could be cherishing. I constantly questioned if I was indeed living to the fullest in all that I did, and if my mindset was the correct one.

Thinking about a conversation that I had with my best friend the other night, I will share something insightful that he told me; he said that if I constantly focus on where I want to be in 10-years, 20-years or even 30-years, I am causing a whole lot of stress that I do not need at this moment in my life. He told me to live my life one day at a time and tomorrow will surely be taken care of.

You see, in life we often miss the little moments because we are so concerned by our futures. We fail to understand that the future is out of our control, however what we do in the present is the only thing that can help us to achieve our envisioned future. We should not focus on those factors that we cannot control - such as our future and most certainly not our past - because these have little impact on the version of ourselves today. When we live in the present, we will notice and advance on those opportunities that will propel us into the future we deserve.

Being in the present ultimately means that when we are at that point, our gratitude will outweigh our regrets, and if we are lucky, we will have nothing but gratitude. Living each day to the fullest and taking those chances to enjoy the little things in life allow us to grow in every aspect of ourselves, allows us to manifest, believe and achieve everything necessary to have the life that we want.