THE MOMENT WE’RE LIVING NOW

Art by Takashi Murakami

“I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.”  - Paul Coelho, The Alchemist

When we hear success stories of people becoming millionaires at 12 years old, we begin to place equally high expectations on ourselves. We set big goals of what success means for us or what our life should look like, only to later feel frustrated when we fall short and fail to show up the way we wanted.

Fixated on achieving these futuristic goals, we tend to compromise our present. I’ve been that person. To set big goals and success matrices that I’ll spend every breathing moment stressing and worrying about. And it’s because I set such big goals that, when I fail, I feel even worse about myself.

Now, I’m not saying that these goals and matrices are not useful. They are for sure, for they let us know where we stand and our progress. What they are not, is a measure of our worth. Take them only as indicators of what you can improve and not as determinants of success and failure.

That means not being heartbroken when you don’t get that job or a million views on your Youtube video or that sales number for your start-up business. Instead of focusing on the wrong, focus on all the things going right in your life. Start small and give yourself grace. Find gratitude and accomplishment in every little thing and every baby step towards progress.

It’s important to have goals for they act as guideposts in our journey. But don’t let that one goal or that one success metric dictate your every living moment. Focus on the present and enjoy the moment you’re living now.