Live in the present

On Mondays, we often find ourselves dreaming about the weekend. We plan our next vacation months in advance, and as soon as it’s over, we start missing that fantastic break from our daily lives. Even during vacations, we sometimes worry about how quickly they’re passing and nervously count down the days until they end.

Sound familiar? I admit, I’ve been guilty of this too. My personal weakness was massages—I used to start dreading the end of a session almost as soon as it began.

Can you count how many times a day you long for something that’s already gone? Or how often you dream about a future event that you believe will make you happier someday? I bet it’s more than you’d think. But can you recall those moments when you’re fully present—like when you’re engrossed in a book while sitting in a cozy chair, or watching a bonfire on a beach? Do you remember that calm and peaceful feeling inside you, the one that comes so rarely but feels so good? That’s the present moment. That’s what it means to live in the now.

Living in the moment doesn’t mean it lasts only a moment. The moment is the present—today, right now. It’s our real life.

The past is gone. Even five minutes ago is already history. You can’t return to it; you can’t change it. The future hasn’t arrived yet. There are countless possibilities for what might happen, and there’s a chance some of them won’t happen at all. I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but if today were your last day, would you spend it the way you are now?

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying you shouldn’t think about your future or reflect on your past. You should! Plan ahead, learn from your experiences, but don’t live there.

What’s the difference? It’s quite simple. When you start to regret, miss, or feel nostalgic about something in the past, you’re living there. The same goes for the future. When you worry about what’s to come or get overly excited about something you don’t yet have, you’re living there too.

Why is this important? Compare all those feelings of missing, regretting, worrying, and longing for “someday,” with that calm and peaceful feeling that comes from living in the present. Which would you choose?

The present is a gift. Don’t waste it. I used to be that person who thought living in the moment was something rare that only happened during special times in my life. I spent so much time worrying about the future that it poisoned my present. Now, I’ve been living in the moment more consistently than ever before—probably more than I did in my entire past life.

So, if you’re still reading this, perhaps you’re wondering how I made this change. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts or magic solutions. But the remedy is simple—not easy, but simple. Just stop. When you find yourself dwelling on the past or the future, stop. Do you miss something that happened before? Let it go—it’s gone. Do you regret something you did? Learn from it, but don’t dwell on regret. If yesterday doesn’t offer anything useful for today, leave it where it belongs—in the past. Are you dreaming about your next vacation? It’s going to be fantastic, I’m sure! But that’s in the future. It will become your present soon enough, but right now, you have a different present to enjoy.

The first step is becoming aware of your thoughts. When you notice yourself drifting into the past or the future, catch yourself and observe it. Learn to recognize when you’re not present. If you’re worrying about the future, you’re living there—experiencing problems that aren’t real yet and may never be. If you’re planning for the future, thinking about how to improve it, that’s great—you’re living in the present.

Once you start consciously recognizing these feelings, move to step two. Acknowledge them, then take a step back and view them from a distance. Separate them from yourself, and let them go. The reward for this effort is immense: that calm and peaceful feeling of living in the moment, which may have been so rare for you before.

And don’t escape the present, even if it’s uncomfortable. It’s your reality. You’re here because of the choices you made in the past, and your future depends on the actions you take now. Today is the result of what we did yesterday, and tomorrow will be shaped by what we do today. So if you want to change your future or maintain what you have, live and act in the present. Tomorrow will become your new today when it arrives, but right now, you are alive in this moment.