Many people today seem to be preoccupied with the future. They want to know what’s going to happen tomorrow, a month from now, a year from now, and even years away from now. We are taught to plan for the future because if we don’t, we are liable to end up in a shaky position years from now, so in order to avoid that unstable future we plan. People give us incredulous looks if we tell them that we haven’t planned for our futures, so in order to avoid the stares we plan. We look at all the negative things that happened to people when they didn’t plan, so in order to not have their fate become our fates as well we plan. We plan and we keep planning until we are so focused on the future that we forget to live in the present. Planning for the future is important, but it shouldn’t become so important that we forget to stay in the present.

Sometimes we want to live in the future because we don’t like what we see in the present. It seems like things in the present are so bad that we plan and imagine our futures in order to give ourselves something to look forward to. If we’re not happy with our jobs, relationships, financial situation, or a host of any other things, looking to the future may be the only thing that gives us hope for brighter days. Having something to strive towards is important, but many times the road that you travel on to get to that final destination can be just as meaningful and important as the final destination itself. Even if the rode is difficult, choosing to stay in the present will allow you to realize just how much you went through and just how far you have come to reach the end.

Still other times we are preoccupied with the future, but instead of embracing it, we tend to avoid it. As a substitute to spending all of our time worrying about what’s going to happen in the future, we avoid thinking about it because we’d much rather live in the present. We aren’t concerned about a shaky future and we don’t care about the looks that we get when we tell people that we don’t have a detailed diagram about what our future will look like because our lives right now are fine and that’s all that matters.

There are times when we don’t want look into the future because we are afraid of what the future has in store for us. If we like the job that we have, the relationships that we have, the financial situation that we’re in, and everything else that is going on in our lives then we think that we don’t need to look to the future because everything that we need is right here in the present. We like our lives in the present, and when that happens, we also start to fear that we might lose all the good that we have one day. Thinking about becoming unhappy in the future isn’t a pleasant thought to have, so instead of trying to avoid that thought process, changing it and our actions into steps where we work towards and believe in a brighter future can lead us to have an even happier future than we have right now.

It’s alright to look ahead to the future. Thinking positively about your future and imagining something better than what you have right now is not only important but it’s essential as well, but it is also just as important to never forget to acknowledge the present. Living too much in the future will keep you out of touch with reality and with what’s going on from day to day, and you wouldn’t want that to happen. It’s also okay to live in the present, but don’t fail to look ahead into your future just because you fear losing what you have in the present. Believing in yourself and what you have now and working to maintain it is important, but so is trusting in, and planning, for a bigger and brighter future. Failing to look to the future may leave you facing some harsh realities in the near future, and you wouldn’t want that to happen either. Having a healthy balance of both aspects of your life is important, so try experiencing some of both positive thinkers.

And as always, stay positive!