The Now

Time is a precious commodity.

Life doesn’t have a rewind button, but we still find ourselves from time to time living life with our brakes on.

Dangers of Tomorrow

We can start tomorrow, right?

The problem with walking around thinking we’ve got all the time in the world is that thanks to tomorrow, our stuff isn’t going to get done today.

Misdirected Attention

It’s sad when we invest time in things that don’t really matter to us in the long run.

We can easily get sucked into media and get so concerned with the lives of other people that we forget to understand ourselves and focus in on our own lives.

Mastering the Present Moment

Living life to the fullest has a lot to do with valuing our time.

Here are some suggestions in how we can be a master of the present moment.

1.) Self-Awareness 

We spend so much time worrying about other people, what they’re doing, what they think of us, that we are not giving ourselves the liberty of finding out who we are.

We’ve got to understand ourselves to the core so we can direct ourselves in areas where we’ll have the most fulfillment.

2.) The Now

When we’re not in the present, it means that we’re detached from the now.

Countering this has everything to do with our focus.

As we direct our focus to the present moment, it’ll be empowering. From moment to moment, it’s now just ourselves and our choices .. choices of thought, action, and attitudes.

3.) Short-term Goals are Fuel

When thinking about what we want to achieve, we can be overwhelmed as we come to the awareness of how much work is going to be required to accomplish what we want.

When we focus on achieving the small goals though, they will fuel us and increase our ability to keep pushing forward in the direction to achieve what we want for ourselves in the long run.

4.) Be Forgiving

We’ve got to be forgiving of other people and ourselves.

We can also be forgiving of the circumstances out of our control, and outcomes in which we hoped for something different.

It would be in our best interest to forgive fast and then move on .. Why? Because we’ve got goals to accomplish.

We don’t want that unnecessary weight of brewing resentment dragging us down.

In a sense, being forgiving means standing up to negative vibes and not letting them distract us from what is most important.

5.) Be Grateful

Gratitude and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin. Each will generate positive vibes and each require mental effort to reap the benefits.

Being grateful is all about being aware.

As we are aware and recognize the goodness in our lives, we’ll attract more of that goodness.

This gratitude can cause an upward spiral of good vibes.

6.) Attitude

When we’re stressed but we still have that good attitude and tell ourselves it’s ok.

If we’ve got negativity going on, it will be relentless in telling us that we’re not going to make it, that we’re not good enough, that it’s too difficult.

We can learn to release the negativity, fully be present in the moment, and acknowledge the potential for positivity as we put in the effort to adjust our attitudes when necessary.

Conclusion

There is no rewind or replay button in life.

This means that now is the time for our improvement, our taking action towards our goals, and our coming to awareness of our potential.

That being said, we shouldn’t let the gap between our current situation and our big goals get us down, even if it’s a big gap.

Putting in work for goals is a constant process, and that process is a reward in itself.

25 thoughts on “The Now”

  1. What a greatly written article. These points may be very simple and easy to understand, but to implement them in your life can be somewhat difficult. One that I struggle with is living in the present. I’m doing one thing, but as I am doing it I continuously think about what I have to do later in the day and stresses me out. I usually catch myself before I make mistakes on the current task at hand, but I still struggle to live in the present sometimes. Do you ever struggle with that or any of these points for that matter? I hope I’m not the only one. Again, this was a wonderfully written article. I hope you have a fantastic day. 🙂

    Reply
    • Thanks for the comment, and yes these are all things that I’ve struggled with. A large part of why I love writing these articles is because they help me conceptualize and remind that I have a lot that can be improved in my life

      Reply
  2. This is a wonderful post. I know I often need to be reminded to honour the time we have by being fully present and living according to my values. since I lost my mother recently, I am keenly aware of the importance of forgiving and of fully living. Thanks for the good vibe!

    Reply
  3. Hello, thanks for encouraging words and showing how life is precious and worth to enjoy it.
    So many people do not have time to stop for a minute and look around. Their days are monotonous and grey.
    I think that we must be aware of small things such as sun rays through clouds, smell of fresh coffee, the laugh of children or nice gesture from the stranger.
    If we do not stop being robots, we will miss process.
    The process, where we can feel alive and joyful.
    I think that meditation lets us discover the treasures inside us. It teaches people to stay still and be open to surroundings and their feelings at the same time.
    Thanks for reminding how fascinating life is.
    All the best, Nemira.

    Reply
    • Thank you for your great comment – I liked what you said about how the process is where we can feel alive and joyful, because it’s so true that working on ourselves and progressing is really the thing that makes us come alive – wish you the best!

      Reply
  4. Hi!, You know something… I really like to read articles that reminds you of everything that you already have and that you should be thankful for that.
    I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this post. And to tell you about a technique I use to stay in the present moment, and live moment to moment.
    You might already know it, its call mindfulness.. I will recommend to search about this, and seriously… practice it… It really change your perspective in life, is like an awakening.
    Well.. that’s it for today. Nice to meet you, have a peaceful life 🙂

    Reply
  5. Hi there!
    Thanks for the great article and advice. All of the methods you described fits into being mindful instead of having a full mind. I think that is a great concept in life because you only get to live one time… and if you are always stressing out over something you are truly not living.

    Reply
  6. Thanks for the 6 great suggestions. I must remember I should live my life right at the moment, as I get older. As you say you can’t rewind or fast forward your moments. I worry so much about what’s happening at work tomorrow, planning about next week, worry about not having enough time to do things, I realise I’m wasting my precious moments in life.
    Thanks again for the great article, I appreciate it.
    Ray

    Reply
  7. Hi Jonn! What a masterful article that I had the pleasure of reading on your website – the subject being that in life there is no rewind button.

    So many statements that you made throughout the article struck a deep chord with me. Right off in the very second paragraph you stated that people often thinking of putting off something, not doing it immediately but believing that it can be accomplished tomorrow is a type of flawed philosophy. The problem would be that “today” would be wasted, unfulfilled and often believing incorrectly that a person has all of the time in the world, (like even tomorrow) to put off something is that the present – “today” gets wasted.

    I also loved a later statement when you said that an incorrect way of living one’s life would be to place so much worry on each and every possible variable that may or may not EVER take place, that often a person simply gets overwhelmed.

    My now deceased Mom had some pieces of wisdom that she passed onto me, even when I was an adult. She said to stop focusing on the big picture. Similar to what was stated in that opening couple of paragraphs, one should not worry about what will happen tomorrow- next week – next month or 10 years from now. Number one: “Tomorrow” has NEVER been promised to any human being who has ever walked this Earth! My Mom used to say “why worry about tomorrow when you haven’t made it through today yet”?

    Number two: My moms said that instead “take it one day at a time”! Focus on the little things. Look at the small picture instead of trying all of your might to dwell on the big picture, everything that possibly could take place in an entire lifetime. And which at present you cannot possibly control!

    Too often with the stress inherent specifically in today’s hectic world people get away from very simple, basic ideals and attitude about life, such as the philosophies and ideals presented in this article. Your article needs to be read by so many people in this world Jonn! I almost want to say that it should be required reading!

    Kudos to you for creating such an insightful and really brilliant article, sir!

    Sincerely,
    Jeff

    Reply
    • I really appreciate the comment! and thank you for sharing those insights given by your mother, she must have been a wise person and wonderful mom. Wish you the best!

      Reply
  8. I really love your article because it puts life into perspective. I agree with you and when you think about it, we only have so much time on earth, so we might as well live our life to the fullest. We like to think that we will live to be 100, but nobody knows how long we will grace this earth.We can live to be 60 or we can be gone by 40. I always say that I wish time machines existed because I would go back and change a few things. You are right in saying that life has no rewind button. We cannot go back. We can only live in the present and create a better future. Great job on this post! Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  9. Thank You very much for the uplifting and inspirational thoughts and advise. I left the site with a warm feeling about the happiness I have found in my life. My wife and I always take the time just to be with one another alone and in our own space reflecting on our children and on our lives together. Again Thank You

    Reply
  10. I absolutely love this article …. and am so glad that I came across your website. I am guilty of sometimes dwelling on the past, as well as spending too much time thinking about the future. And what needs to be done in the future is truly overwhelming at times! Focusing on small things and living in the present moment is the greatest advice, and what I will try to incorporate in my life. Thanks so much for providing us with the inspiration that so many of us need!

    Reply
  11. I also live as much as possible now with the great advice you shared in your article, I even shared your article on my facebook and twitter page for my followers and friends to benefit from your article as well. We do not take advantage of all the good things in our lives, we are too busy doing this and that we as they say forget to stop and smell the roses

    Reply
  12. Now is our time for our improvement, I agree with you all the way brother! being in the present is the best thing one can do, no worries from the past, and no worries from the future. Life is truly beautiful and once people come to realize this, they will be truly grateful and instead of focusing on what they dont have they will see what they do have!

    Reply
  13. Awesome article to read especially when your feeling a bit down. The points you bring were really though out and i think your 100% right. Sometimes the past thing to do is live in the present and forgot about all the regrets you may have had in the past.

    What a great article to read. A lot more people need to read this and really appreciate what you already have.

    Reply
  14. Thank you for your great post. Being mindful can be hard in these fast paced times and it is good to get a reminder of what is important. I all too often get all wrapped up in everything I have to do and forget to be in the here and now. It`s great to get a reminder of what is important and help steer us back to the right track to finding our own bliss.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

*