Are you living in the future?

 

You’re living in the future if you always think tomorrow will be better.

You’re living in the future if you put your dreams off today.

You’re living in the future if you think the present isn’t as good as what’s coming.

You’re living in the future if you work long days in a soul-crushing job just to fund your retirement.

You’re living in the future if you’re always looking forward to that day when everything will be perfect.

You’re living in the future if you fill today with meaningless junk, on the promise that you’ll stop to smell the roses another day.

 If you’re not stuck in the past, but you’re not really in the present moment, you’re probably stuck in the future. People who live in the future are always moving on to the next goal, the newer car, the bigger house, the better job. When they reach that seemingly elusive goal, the hole inside them still isn’t filled, and so they strive for more.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having goals – it is at the very core of our human behaviour to strive towards achieving goals. In the beginnning the goal might have been to gather enough food to eat and build a shelter strong enough to withstand the elements. These days our goals could be anything from learning to swim to becoming an astronaut or saving for a holiday.

Sometimes – quite often – I have been guilty of living in the future. Preoccupied with how happy I will be when everything in my life just falls in to place. Once my desires are manifested, then I’ll be able to live in that moment. Right?

Except it doesn’t work like that. Part of being human is always wanting more. It’s taken me a long time to learn that by the time I get to where I want to be, I’ll want more again. Right now my goals are to finish a novel, get it published, quit my day job and write full-time. But once that happens, will I be content? Most likely not. I’ll be happy and proud of course, but the next thing will be to publish another novel, earn more money, renovate the house and buy a nice car. And what about when I get that? Once I’m driving around in my nice car, sitting in my renovated house, counting my dollars, then will I be able to appreciate the moment?

Recently I read something that really grabbed me. It was emailed to me by a friend and i still don’t know where it comes from, but I do know that every time I’m tempted to forget the moment I’m in, I’ll go back to it.

“An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Greek village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.
The American complimented the Greek on the quality of his fish and asked, “How long does it take to catch them?” The Greek replied: “Only a little while.”
The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Greek said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Greek fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play cards with my friends, I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.
Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution.
You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Athens, then London and eventually New York where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Greek fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “15-25 years.”
“But what then?” The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”
“Millions … Then what?” The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play cards with your friends.”

Appreciate what you have in this moment. Don’t dwell too much on what’s to come. Planning and goal setting is fine, but don’t lose sight of what you have right now.

The beauty is in the journey, remember…

Tagged as: Goals, life, living in the future, simplicity, the big picture