Does Choosing Living in the Now Empower Control of Our Lives?

Yes. Because the now is the only time that is actually, factually real.

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

Living in the now allows us to only be focused on our immediate needs, immediate surroundings, and ourselves. Living in the now lets us ultimately focus on pretty much anything and everything we desire to.

What’s the difference? When you live in the past you can easily get caught up in all the “what ifs”. What if I had done ‘x’? What if I had participated in ‘y’? Some people get so caught up in nostalgic recollections of the past that they want to “go back” to it. Except, of course, it was not so great as our off-colored perception recalls it to be.

And of course — you cannot go back.

Meanwhile, when you live in the future you open yourself up to torrents of anxiety. More “what ifs” — but about possibilities as-yet-unrealized. What if that asshat wins the presidency or what if I can’t fix this problem or what if I get hit by a bus crossing the street tomorrow? Some people get so caught up in worrying about the future that they completely miss out on the now and all life offers them. Thus, they disempower themselves thoroughly.

Living in the now lets us focus on this moment, right here, right now. When we are in the present and dealing with our immediate circumstances, we are ultimately empowered to make choices, such as positive over negative, the direction of all that we do, and to maintain the focus we need to create and do and achieve.

Lessons from the past and for the future in the now

There is value in the past and in thinking about the future. The past teaches us lessons, good and bad, that ultimately shape us into who we are. The future gives us goals to achieve and places to go from where we are now — because life is always in motion.

The trouble with past and future tense comes when we get too focused backward or forwards and the now slips into unimportance. Right at this moment will only be at this moment, and then it will be gone.

What’s more — this moment, right now, is the only time that is genuinely, truly real. When we choose how this moment of our life…