Be Here Now Even If You’re Goal Setting

I have a Life Is Good t-shirt that reads:

Yesterday Is History
Tomorrow Is A Mystery
Today Is The Day

Its kind of along the Ram Das lines of Be Here Now, all we have is the current moment, we can’t influence the past in any meaningful way and we do not know what the future holds, so simply enjoy the moment.

I like this sentiment, I like it a lot and I think that if more people could embrace it then we would all feel a lot less stressed and get a lot more out of life. I see many people that will be happy when they get that raise, or that new job, or that luxurious house, or when the kids leave home etc. You know what I mean; it’s the live for tomorrow philosophy that wastes the only day that really matters, today. It makes me think of the John Lennon quote “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans”

This is really a preamble into a conversation I had with a client this week that superbly demonstrated why there has to be balance in everything that we do. I was talking about the need to be in the moment more often and got asked ‘what about goal setting then?’ Quite brilliant I thought, hoisted by my own petard! (Whatever a petard is) As a coach I believe in written goal setting, I know that it works for many people and it is something I will always encourage my clients to do. However, you can be setting goals and still be in the moment most of the time enjoying what it is you are doing as much as what it is you want to be doing in the future.

Being in the moment allows us to enjoy whatever it is we are doing and to not be beating ourselves up for something we think we should be doing or hammering ourselves with some guilt trip from something that has already taken place and we cannot change. It allows us to connect with the people round us and feel a sense of involvement that doesn’t come when we are constantly thinking about what has happened in the past or what may happen in the future.

I went to the dentist this week to have 2 crowns fitted. Now I could have spent all the previous weekend worrying about the pain and the subsequent bill, or I could forget about it and enjoy doing whatever it was I was doing. The former method serves only to ruin my weekend and puts me squarely into a bad mood and the latter doesn’t! It’s a no-brainer!

I am in no way suggesting we all sit around chanting an Om meditation and refusing to accept there is a future as we achieve nirvana whilst slowly starving to death, but I am saying give yourself the opportunity to be in the moment more often because it is all you have. Practice being here now so that when you want to be fully engaged you can be. Notice your thoughts and how often they are not on whatever it is you are doing, if it is most of the time, then my guess would be that you think life is passing you by and that is not a great feeling to have.

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