The Value of the Present





Mira Patel - February 2nd 2022





Do you ever feel like you just want to get the week over? From the moment Monday starts, do you find yourself thinking and anticipating about Friday? Everyone feels this way at one point or another. We find ourselves on the verge of being stuck in a loop that is extremely difficult to escape. These are the days we fail to live up to their fullest potential. All because we get through each day for the sake of getting through it, just to reach our fantasized Friday.


So how do you make Monday into day that isn’t just an obstacle, on our way to fantasized Friday? The answer lies in your mentality. A different perspective leads to a different experience. Go into Monday with the mentality that you will have fun. Go into Monday with an open mind and open eyes, to seek out moments of happiness. That way, you won’t find yourself waiting for our fantasized Friday. Find something to be grateful for. It can be as simple as feeling grateful for the people you have in your life. Because in the end, we may be dismissing amazing things, and extraordinary people in our daily lives as mundane everyday things or people. If we stick to this mentality, we can compile these small moments of happiness from every day and turn them into a lifetime of happiness.


There is a difference between setting goals for your future and living in the present. Why is this so crucial then? It would be because the goal that we are all looking forward to is something that we must start working for — and towards — in the present. So if we set goals in the future, we must spend time in the present to get to that fantasized future. The present is where we are right now. As you read this, we go ahead in time. So spend time in the moment to live it, rather than stress in the future. ​


Everyone has dreams for their future lives. We may have set goals and have started to put in hard work to reach them. Some of us may be struggling to improve themselves, or to even get through each day onto the next. We may be working on improving ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally every single day. Sometimes we have moments where we struggle to pass the time. In those moments we may think of something in the future to get us through the difficult moment in the present. Hope is powerful as it helps us escape the present moment, into the future we desire for. However, the future is uncertain. The only thing in our control is the present moment. It is up to us to define the present, and to give it value.


The fantasized future, just like our fantasized Friday, is ultimately overrated. We must make the choice ourselves. The choice to enjoy the journey to that future, instead of finding an escape from the present moment.