5 Reasons to Live in the Now With Gratitude
Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in planning your future and forget about the gratitude you currently have. Planning for a secure and happy future is an important undertaking, but too much attention to a time that is yet to come can greatly inhibit your ability to focus on the here and now.
Right now, at this very moment, you can begin to enjoy your everyday life that is currently flashing unnoticed right before your eyes. Let the future come naturally and live joyfully and willingly in the present moment! Celebrate your gratitude while sharing it with others! You will be amazed at how easy and FUN it can be!
Consider these five reasons that you should start living in the here and now, expressing your gratitude, and celebrating each day:
1. Each day, you grow older. Each day of your life has the ability to be monumental, but each day only happens once. Every moment of every day, you’re given a chance to make a lasting memory. Create a memory that you’ll be proud to share. This certainly does not mean you should throw away your past and forget about it. On the contrary, use it for the lessons you learned! Use it to move you forward.
Your destiny is up to you. If you’re concerned about the future, you can start paving the road for it today. That road starts by living your life to the fullest degree at this very moment so you feel fulfilled in the years to come.
2. You replace worry with contentment. Have you noticed that when you are grateful, you are content? No one knows what the future will bring. By focusing on today rather than your tomorrow, you’ll inherently stop worrying about what’s to come and focus on enjoying your reality.
3. You get to know yourself. Your wants, needs, and interests are constantly evolving. If you’re wrapped up in planning for tomorrow, you may never truly get to know the person you are today. By defining yourself in the here and now, you’re able to truly figure out what you want. It’s common to be so deep into nurturing a plan for the future that you’ve created years ago without realizing that it’s far different than your ideal life.
4. Time moves too quickly. When you are living in the now, you can spend more time with your loved ones. If you’re a parent, you know better than anyone that those precious moments disappear in a blink of an eye. One moment, you’re changing your first diaper. The next, you’re watching your children forge ahead on their own. Spending time with your children is obviously important, but devoting time to your spouse is even more so. When you do, you nurture your marital relationship to ensure that your significant other is feeling loved and cared for, which in turn, helps your children to feel that love as well.
5. You experience all life has to offer. When you are thankful, you share this experience with others! You only have one life to live. It’s important to maximize every moment by experiencing each moment to its fullest. Take advantage of the youth you have on your side now, before it’s too late to do it later. Now is the time to be spontaneous. Take your family on a random, weekend vacation. Surprise your spouse with an adventurous trip on a hot air balloon or go kayaking with your friends. These are memories you’ll cherish for a lifetime!
Life is beautiful! There is so much that you can be grateful for. Express your gratitude. It’s joyous and full of abundance. So many meaningful things happen in your everyday existence. Go on and celebrate them. Keep in mind – if your mind is locked in the future, all of these events will slip by before you’re even able to notice that they’re gone. Live in the now!
Be Well.
Paul
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The Gratitude Guru
Paul, I am so with you on this theme! Our current moment is the pivot moment for the rest of our lives. I like to think of living in the Present, with an eye to the future that the Divine and I are cocreating. Powerful! Thanks for a great and well-written piece.
Thanks, Kebba!
Thanks for this post, Paul. Sometimes it is hard to be in the present moment and be grateful for what we do have. It is good to have reminders and reasons.
First, I think being in the present moment if key. Once you are present, then focus on being grateful 🙂
Excellent ways to express gratitude and celebrate each day instead of reliving the past. I have so much to be grateful for and I love sharing my experiences with others.
THe past is great to remember and learn from, however, living in it won’t do any long-term good.
So many ancient religions stress mindfulness as being the key to contentment. When one is mindful, it is really hard to be anxious or depressed since one is about the future, and the other is about the past. When one is fully present, all senses become more heightened and the memory more vividly retained. Life years are gone in an instant. We spend the first 18 years hoping to get to 18, and the rest of our years trying to get back to 18. The memories that we can create in between are what makes our life. Let’s hope it is a life well lived. Great post.
Yes! When one is mindful, it is really hard to be anxious or depressed since one is focused on the present. This can be extremely beneficial, especially when dealing with mental health issues. Thanks for sharing!