It seems like all we ever do as humans is rush our lives away. The moment you are living in is never good enough, and there always seems to be something better to look forward to. Whether you're waiting for it to be 5 PM so you can leave work or waiting for it to be Friday night so you can go out, stop rushing everything. I can't tell you how many people I see on a daily basis simply rushing their lives away.
Almost everyone I know couldn't wait for it to finally be summer vacation. But now that that's exactly what it is, all I'm seeing is people saying how they "can't wait for sweater season" and how "October to December is the best time of the year." Take it easy, your pumpkin spice lattes aren't going anywhere, let's just live in the moment.
I used to have a really bad habit of only looking towards the future. I waited for school to end, for it to be Friday, and pretty much my whole junior year of high school was filled with me just waiting to be able to go to college.
It took a lot of advice from a friend and a bit of self-realization to really start working towards having a "live in the moment" mindset. But once I was able to do that, it made me enjoy my every-day life so much more.
Being able to be excited for the future but also appreciate every moment it takes to get there is difficult, especially when you have something big coming up. However, it's important to remember that one day you'll be looking back and wishing you could relive all those days again, so you better cherish them while you can.
There are different means of "wasting" your life away. It could be short-term, in which you're just waiting for the school day to be over or for it to be 8 o'clock when your favorite show comes on. It could also be long-term, where you're wishing you were out of school and already settled down with a family. When you're aware that you're constantly waiting for the future, it's easier to train yourself to live in the moment.
When it comes to short-term things, you just have to know that it's coming. Whatever you're looking forward to will be here soon. Just be patient. Long-term things may be a bit harder because they're not always definite. You may hope to be a mom of three soccer kids driving a brand new Range Rover, but that's not something you can really count on.
So when you're waiting for points in your life that may or may not occur, focus on what you can do now and in the near future to make the things you want a reality. You have to understand that right now is definite. Do what makes you happy now. Years from now is just a vision; work to make your vision come true, but don't forget to enjoy the steps along the way.
