So often, we find ourselves either looking forward to something in the future or reminiscing about something that happened in the past.
Don’t get me wrong; everyone likes to look back and laugh at that one time you were so drunk that you threw up in a taxi (or was that just me?) or countdown the days until you embark on a cruise for spring break, but how often do you find yourself actually living in the moment?
They say life is short and if you spend it waiting for something to happen or wishing for something that already happened, it will flash before your eyes. Here are seven quotes that will change your perspective about living in the moment:
“We are always getting ready to live but never living.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Have you ever seen commercials for online colleges where the narrator is a single mom who went back to school and tells you to stop watching TV, get off the couch and go back to school?
That is exactly what this quote means. Don’t spend your life coming up with excuses as to why you can’t do something. Don’t sit there and say, “Oh, tomorrow I’ll start.” Whether it’s going back to school or going to the gym or calling your grandmother, just get up and do it.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future; concentrate the mind on the present moment.” -Buddha
We have all had that breakup that leaves you in bed for two weeks straight, binging on Netflix, eating nothing but Godiva chocolate.
Those two weeks is time you will never get back. Being sad about how something didn’t work out and how much you miss “him” just takes you away from everything you could be doing.
Likewise, when it comes to dreaming about the future, life changes every day and the chance that things will end up how you want are slim to none.
“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.” – Lao Tzu
Everyone is going to die. You could die crossing the street, choking on french fries or even getting struck by lightning. I mean, you’re more likely to die texting while driving (which I know you do) than die while skydiving.
Stop living with a fear of death because there is no way to avoid it; it will happen.
“Every day I’ve got to be thankful that I am alive, and you never know — the cliché is, I guess, you could get hit by a bus tomorrow, so you’d better be at peace with whatever you got going at the moment.” – Joseph Gordon-Levitt
We are often afraid to care too much because we are afraid that the other person does not care enough. I have heard many people say that they don’t want to say “I love you” first.
Why is this? Are we afraid the other person won’t say it back? Maybe he or she wont and that’s okay. We, as individuals, feel things differently at different times. If you feel something, you should share it.
“You’re only human. You live once and life is wonderful, so eat the damned red velvet cupcake.” – Emma Stone
Our generation is obsessed with the phrase YOLO and that’s a good thing. You aren’t promised tomorrow so you should always live each day as if it were your last.
Don’t be afraid to splurge and try new things; you never know if you will get that chance ever again. You never want to look back on your life and say, “I wish I would have taken the chance.”
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs
There will always be someone who has a nicer car than you do or someone who has a more expensive handbag than yours is and that’s okay.
If you spend your whole life trying to keep up with everyone else, whose life are you really living? The only person with whom you should be concerned is yourself.
“There are no regrets in life — just lessons.” – Jennifer Aniston
You should never regret making a decision because at some, point it was exactly what you wanted. Nobody is perfect; everyone makes mistakes. The most important aspect of making a mistake, however, is learning a lesson from that mistake.
If you wake up next to a stranger after too many shots of whiskey and you are totally freaked out, don’t do it again — lesson learned. You will never know if you never try.
