6 Reminders For Those Who Struggle To Live In The Present

1. Today is a gift—do not squander it by letting your thoughts constantly move to what is next, new, and waiting around the corner. Do not let your plan to figure out where to place your feet next come at the expense of enjoying the ground you stand upon right now.

2. Resist the urge to lend all of your energy to worry. Worrying about what comes next doesn’t change the outcome—the only thing it does is rob you of your ability to live in this moment fully. 

3. Let go of what once was—you have made mistakes. You have taken wrong turns. You have gone down paths that are rocky and terrible and, in retrospect, ill-advised. But you have learned from them. You have been changed by them, too. So please stop letting yourself let what happened yesterday dictate each moment of today, and tomorrow, too.

4. It’s okay to take a risk—but remember that sometimes that risk isn’t something grand, extravagant, and sparkly. Sometimes, it’s a risk to let yourself lean into the quiet moments. Sometimes, it’s a risk to stay still. Sometimes, the universe will present you with different routes to try, and then there are other times when the most significant risk of all is to allow your eyes and heart to remain open long enough to revel in the blessings that surround you. 

5. Remember that you will not always know the answer. You won’t always immediately know where to go next. You won’t always immediately know where to turn after you experience heartache or chaos. You won’t always know the right thing to say, or the right thing to do, or how to channel your emotions in a way that makes whatever you’re going through feel a little easier—and that’s okay. For you’re a human being, not a machine, and you need to give yourself a little bit of grace to figure it all out. Just take it one day at a time.

6. Do not wait until tomorrow to tell the ones you love how much you love them. Do not wait until tomorrow to start making tiny strides towards your dream. Each day holds a million little mornings, and each day contains a plethora of moments where you can shift and change and begin again. Do not wait until tomorrow to begin—start right now in the present.