We often tend to think a lot about things that haven’t even occurred yet. Yes, it is important to think about the future and have a rough blueprint or plan but do things always go according to our plan? Even the smallest things like getting somewhere on time don’t always go according to our plan some days.
As for me, I am just a mid-20’s Asian girl, living in Kathmandu, who started her own business in late 2019. In those early days, I thought in one year my business would be one of the best in town but that didn’t happen because, well 2020. Being the sole owner of the business, my mind was always full of what I had to do tomorrow and the things that hadn’t even happened yet (or had a 99% chance of not happening at all) and that started affecting my daily life. I felt the constant headache. I spent many nights waking from what now seem like little problems. The smallest things that I had to do the following day, like getting raw materials and accounts receivable and payable would bother me and I used to feel the sweat on my palms. Then one random morning, over a cup of coffee, I was thinking about all of this and decided I didn’t want to live a life when my future would mess up my present. I tried to control my thoughts and focus on what was in front of me today.
“One day at a time.” I had heard, read and seen this phrase over a hundred times in my life but never truly followed it. You are just two seconds away from a decision and just that one day, over a sip of coffee, I decided I am going to live one day at a time. Days started feeling much calmer and my shoulders stopped feeling heavy. It was not like I stopped thinking about the future completely, one can never do that, but I stopped over-thinking about tomorrow and it was much easier to live my today.
Fast forward to the present. I have been living in the same moto of taking one day at a time with a clearer vision and promising days yet to come. Being fearful of the future has nothing to give us in return. It just takes from you until you have nothing left to offer. Even after all of this understanding somedays the thoughts of tomorrow feel like an anchor but I choose not to go down with it.
Keeping in mind the lines of the famous writer Dale Carnegie, “Live in Day Tight Compartments.” I am on the path of mastering the art of balancing the past and the future with a peaceful mind and happy heart.
Image source: https://www.comicspipeline.com/8647/one-day-at-a-time-quotes