Life exists only in the present
Most of us spend our days caught in two places that don’t exist anymore - the past and the future. We regret the decisions we didn’t make, the chances we didn’t take or we anxiously worry about what’s to come, fearing the unknown.
But the present is all we truly have. This fleeting moment, slipping through the timeline of our lives, is the only thing we can live in and act upon.
Look around, and it might seem like everyone has life all figured out, especially now, in the age of social media. But appearances can be deceiving.
Take me, for instance. During the pandemic in 2020, I started making YouTube videos. I was excited and motivated at first, but after two or three uploads, I stopped. Now, I see newer channels thriving, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. For a while, I regretted not sticking with it. But regret changes nothing. The only thing I can do now is start again, right here, right now, and commit to the next four years. Who knows where that will lead?
The same goes for worrying about the future. Sitting around feeling anxious about unmet life goals accomplishes nothing. The only path forward is through small, deliberate steps. Those tiny actions today can snowball into something meaningful over months or years.
I don’t have it all figured out, and that’s okay. Writing these notes is my way of sorting through life’s chaos. I’m not chasing some mythical moment when I’ll “have it all.” Life doesn’t work that way. You evolve. Your goals shift.
The 20 something version of me, arriving in this city, had dreams that look so different from what I have now. Back then, I couldn’t have imagined the life I’m living today. And yet, even now, I feel there’s more to achieve. That’s the nature of life: we never quite feel like we’ve arrived.
So here’s my reminder, to myself and anyone else who needs it - Take a breath. Do what needs to be done today. And don’t forget to enjoy the process.
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