So often people are caught up in the future. So much time can be spent thinking about what is coming next.
How will the year ahead look?
What plans have I made?
What are my next goals?
What are the next steps?
How will I progress?
How can I improve myself?
Where am I going next?
What does the future hold for me?
These questions are quite common for a lot of people to ask and to explore frequently. So much time can often be spent looking towards the future and all that it might bring.
While it is positive to set goals. It can also leave people always thinking about what is coming next. We know that routine and structure can help to provide people with a sense of purpose and an idea of where they are heading. But if life is always spent planning and looking ahead – how much of the moment is actually getting missed??
It can be very healthy to set reasonable targets. It is useful to work towards achieving things. And it is positive to make plans and head towards goals. These things do have a place in our lives and they are important for all of us.
However, if this is all we do, if this is all we focus on, if this is all we talk and think about – then we can be left feeling very anxious and at times overwhelmed.
Much like looking back or living in the past can often leave people feeling unfulfilled and depressed at times. Always looking forward and living for the future can leave people feeling on edge, apprehensive and at times lost and confused. This can become a heightened state of anxiety. And in addition to this if a person is always focusing on what is coming next – if those plans change – then they are likely to feel very low, very unfulfilled, and very down in themselves.
So perhaps there is something about the management of ‘what next’. Perhaps it is something that can be held in mind. Plans, goals, focus – they can all be there. But they key is not letting them take over. The key is not letting them be everything or the only thing. If people can strike the balance between looking forward and living in the moment, then they are likely to feel happier and more fulfilled.
Allowing our what next thoughts to rent some space in our heads, is far healthier then all of the space in our heads. So perhaps the key is monitoring how much we think and focus on the future.
So just for today step back. Focus on you’re here and now. What is really important right now? What feels like it matters to you today? What means the most to you in your current life? Its time to think about the present. Its time to focus on the here and now. And its time to make sure that your present situation is making you happy.
Look around your life right now and evaluate. Where are you in yourself? How are you mentally? Psychologically? Physically? Spiritually?
If you look at your current life balance how does it look? Work? Friends? Family? You time? How is your health? Your relationship with exercise? How are your finances? What does your current environment look like? If you were to evaluate all of these things I wonder what score rating they would get. If 10 was the highest and 1 was the lowest.
Think about that for a moment – where are the lower scores in your current life? Maybe its time to think about them and what needs to change to improve them, and to make your present more fulfilling and more meaningful.
Maybe the key is evaluating the here and now rather then always trying to look and focus ahead. Maybe the key is making sure things feel positive for you on a day to day basis rather then working towards a goal or an achievement in the future.
The what next is important, but its not as important as the here and now. Living for today. Living in the present. Being happy and fulfilled with all that is currently happening. That is more important then anything. Make sure your living the life you want to live right now. Look around you. Be mindful. Be calm and focus. Right here. Right now. The rest will follow.