The Balance of Being Present & Dreaming of the Future

Being Present | Dreaming of the Future

I have always been a dreamer and for most of my life I have put my focus on the future.  I spent hours dreaming about the things I could buy one day, the person that I would be, and the freedom I would finally have. I felt stuck for years and I didn’t know what I could do in that moment to propel myself forward.  It is easy to lose a lot of our time focusing on where we need to go next instead of focusing on this precious moments right now.

Sometimes living in the moment is painful and we want to be anywhere but here.  We feel stuck, uncomfortable, and scared.  We want to be THERE, not here.  We want to be in another body, not our own. It is natural to avoid the discomfort, but we need to realize that we are losing the now when we spend more of our time over “there” rather than here.

The balance won’t ever be perfect. But having a tool box to bring us back to the present is essential to keep us grounded. Here are a few ways to intentionally focus on future goals, but still live in the present.

Design Simple Habits.

Everything you do each day adds up to who you are becoming. It is crucial to build daily habits to become who you want to be.  Create a plan of no more than 3 simple habits that you can commit to following daily. And fully be in the moment while you do these 3 habits. Let them make your day a bit brighter and more enjoyable because you are making your dreams happen.

Be in the Pain.

Part of being human is feeling all the ups and down of life.  It is so easy to hit the “escape” button. We must intentionally choose to stay present and feel into the discomfort. At first it might be difficult to start letting them in, but once you feel them you can them let go.  Choosing to not feel them by occupying yourself with social media, food, alcohol is only a distraction from what your soul needs you to feel.

Say No to Busy.   

Our need to be busy stems from our fear of being present, fear of feeling the stillness, or our fear of our future self never being enough.

Story Time: Just yesterday I had this intense feeling that I needed to start hustling. I was researching, exploring and trying to do 5 things at once. It came on very quick and I got excited, but I was getting irritated at the same time. I was mad because I knew I would fail and the anxiety was starting to rise. I didn’t know where to put my attention. Today I told myself to stop. I know in my heart that I was feeling the pressure to “do” more to feel worthy. I was fearful I would miss my chance at success if I didn’t do all the things. To clear my emotions, I went for a bike ride at the gym, I pull out my phone/notebook and just free wrote.
This is one of my favorite lines that I sketched out…
 “Listen to your calmness. Your intuition will never burn you out. That is your ego saying you aren’t good enough. That you failed. Your ego is wrong.”

Listen to your calmness.

I mean that line right there is just bliss and magic.  Living in the now doesn’t need to be “busy” and you don’t have to be “busy” to reach your future self either.

 

Savor the Gooey Moments.

I don’t know exactly how else to describe the magic of daily life besides gooey. Yesterday I ate a gluten filled oatmeal cookie and for some reason those are like magic to me.  (especially with some iced coffee) But anything gooey is just filled with delight. Savoring those moments allow you to fully be present.  Before you know it the time will slip away. People will slip away. Life will slip away.  All we have is now so savor it.

Delete Distractions.

Getting anything done is 10x more difficult with the amount of distractions we have.  Even right now I am fighting the urge to explore IGTV. *gah* The amount of information out there is intense. Social media is addicting. It is comforting to absorb information like a giant thanksgiving feast, but eventually it makes you so full you cannot move. Set up your life in a way to avoid the distractions. Take a social media detox by deleting ALL social apps. Delete all notifications (and don’t add them back – I have all of mine off for good) Get to know yourself and learn how to manage the distractions! If you want to live in the now, you need to be focused where you are.

 

Book your Calendar with Things you Love. 

No matter what I make time to work out, cook food, and sleep. If I don’t do these 3 things, I don’t function very well.  But I also feel sad if I don’t make time to write.  Yet, it never seems to be quite as high of a priority.  It should really be up there with cooking and sleeping. It is easy to skip the extra side projects, but when they make you come so much more alive – how can you not prioritize them?  Book your hobbies in your calendar just like you would your workouts! If you don’t make time now, I promise you never will.

 

I am writing this because I know from my own experience how easy it is to get lost in the future. I need daily reminders that the future will be here much too soon.  Be intentional with your daily tasks.  Be focused on your future goals.  But be happy with exactly how far you have already come. <3

Do you struggle with this balance? If so, How do you balance loving exactly where you are and looking forward to the future? Comment below and share with me and everyone else here!

xox
Chelsea Jolene