Quarantine due to COVD-19 has given me a lot of time for self-reflection and has made me stop and think about life. My conclusion, we spend a lot of time allowing life to pass us by.
Have you checked out my post of self-reflection yet? If not, you really should! Click Here
I am typically one of those people who looks forward to special events or milestones and thinks "I can't wait until this happens". I get lost in my dreams about accomplishing or experiencing said event and focus on nothing but that. For travel events, I have a countdown app and I tend to wish daily for time to hurry up so the event can arrive. However, when the event finally happens, I end up feeling like it went too fast, or that it didn't fulfill me as much as I hoped because I needed more time to enjoy it.
The reason for this is because we tend to romanticize how things should be and it's tough to live up to fancy. We then compare what we thought it should be like with what it actually is and welp...we tend to fall short on the dream and end up feeling disappointed.
I spent a lot of time at the start of quarantine being annoyed that trips I was counting down to, or the time I was looking forward to spending with people I care about was being postponed. Not having these events to countdown to or focus on left me feeling very lost and honestly kinda scared, because I didn't know what I was working toward.
When I sat back a started thinking about things, the reality of it all is that future does not exist, and the past no longer matters. The only thing that's real is now, this very moment. Everything else is an illusion that we create. As soon as you start thinking about the past, you are living in your memories. As soon as you start imagining your future, you are living in your dreams.
Granted the past is there to provide you with important life lessons and should not be ignored. We have to fail forward in life and learn from the mistakes we make so we can reach our goals. However, it is also important that you don't compare everything you encounter on life's journey to that past. If we do this, we could end up holding ourselves back, mostly due to fear of repeating those past mistakes.
The same applies to the future. You need to set goals and accomplishments to work towards, but it's important that you don't get tunnel visioned on the goal and miss all the beautiful, little details that are a part of achieving your big goal. This is something I have been guilty of doing with so many things in my life....especially when it comes to my fitness journey.
All to often we can find ourselves stuck in the past dwelling on things we can't change, wondering about the what if's. Or maybe you're someone so focused on the future that you miss all of the wonderful things that are happening right now.
I personally tend to focus on what I still need to do more than what I have already accomplished and I could kick myself for doing that. My goal now is to slow down, savor every moment that I'm lucky enough to experience in life and stop questioning everything that could be or could have been.
Is this going to be easy? No, but it will be 100% worth the effort.
I believe the "secret" to enjoying life is getting clear on what makes you happy and what you want to achieve. Once you establish this, you can begin making choices that move you closer to achieving them.
Again, if you haven't checked out my post from last week on self-reflection I highly recommend you that do. It will help you to figure out who you are and what you want to achieve in life! Click Here
If quarantine has taught us anything, it's that we need to slow down and enjoy the little things. Give yourself credit for what you have accomplished. Take time to self-reflect and figure out what you truly want to do with your life. Learn from your mistakes and move forward with knowledge. Treat everyday as a clean slate where yesterday doesn't matter and tomorrow doesn't exist. Live in the here and now. Just go with the flow, show yourself some grace, ask questions and grow as a person.
#FailForward and #OwnYourOwnShit these are my mantras and how I keep myself focused.
Don't let life you pass you by. We only get one shot at it.
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