Living in the Moment is Key to Happiness

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“Living in the moment” is a very broad phrase and nearly every person would agree to be living in this very moment if asked. And there would be nothing wrong about affirming the question as everyone of us is living in this very moment – physically. That’s an inevitable law of nature. However, living in the moment is just an inalterable characteristic of our physical body, but as soon as we switch our perspective from the physical level to the mental level things start to change completely, in a very interesting way. Even though we are living physically in this very moment – nearly all our thoughts revolve around the past or the future. The thoughts of a very young person will clearly be focused on the events that will take place in the future – no matter if these are upcoming events in the next moments or situations that lie many years in the future. The elder, however, will have directed their focus on situations from the past, with their thoughts revolving around the things that have already happened.

The border between the past and the future is nearly non-existent and could be depicted with a thin line in the middle of two infinite levels; the line symbolizes this very moment – the here and now – the reality. The boundaries of the past and future are constantly shifting and with them shifts the present; isn’t that thought you have at this very moment bygone a second later? Something to think about …

Apropos thoughts – the title of this article wasn’t named “thinking in the moment is key to happiness” as I intentionally avoided the words “thoughts”, “thinking” and the like. The reason why I did this is that it is not possible for us to “think in the moment”.  This very moment can be seen, experienced and felt, but we cannot think about it, our thoughts simply cannot revolve around the present. Whenever we start thinking our thoughts get influenced by past experiences, mindsets, attitudes and values; in short things that are influenced by the events we experienced in the past. Thinking is like switching into a fantasy, a virtual reality that is not existent in this very moment – our thoughts do not exist on a physical level. The past and the future cannot be touched or seen, we cannot experience it and we are not able to feel what happened in the moment, we only can imagine these virtual realities within our minds. That is the reason this article was chosen to be about “living in the moment”. The present is something you can experience, feel and see; which is quite wonderful as it really happens and is not just a part of imagined thoughts, hopes or fears.

SUMMARY:

  • The past and the future do only exist within your thoughts
  • Reality is what you experience in this very moment
  • Your mind and thoughts are not part of the present

So far so good. That is how I see reality and how I would describe “living in the moment”. Reality is quite an interesting topic and a lot of my thoughts revolve around questions related to reality; what it is and how different people interpret it. In my article about thinking outside the box I wrote that every one of us is living within a box, that filters the true reality accordingly to our mindsets, attitudes, and values. This article, however, will not focus on comprehending the moment, but on the power of living in this very moment and it will show you why living in the moment is a key factor for happiness.

So, what is the power of living in the moment?

Gratitude and Happiness

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs describes the theory that the motive behind all our actions are specific needs we want to satisfy; from physiological needs (breathing, eating), security needs, social needs to the needs of self-actualization. As soon as we have accomplished the needs on one level we start to fully concentrate towards the achievement of the needs that are located on a higher level. For example, when we have satisfied the need for food and water we can focus on our social needs, security needs, etc. The reason that I chose to mention Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in this article is because it elucidates one thing very clearly:

Throughout our whole life, we focus on the things we wish we had and the things we want to accomplish, rather than being grateful for what we have and what we already achieved in life. Living this kind of lifestyle is a never-ending race for happiness and fulfillment.

Pursuing the things we do not have / the needs we want to satisfy with the attempt to experience happiness and fulfillment through them is a never-ending race, without being able to feel true happiness and fulfillment, even when achieving the targeted goals and tangibles. When we look closer at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs we see that as soon as we satisfied one need another need will start to arise, leaving us behind unsatisfied, unfulfilled or not happy. My core statement is that you shouldn’t make your own happiness dependent on the achievement of the things you currently not have.

Happiness

Living in the moment can be a guarantor for happiness if you do it properly

One of the most common things people try to accomplish is wealth, which helps them to be able to afford all different sorts of tangibles. The motive behind this pursuit of money is the hope to find fulfillment and happiness by gathering it. But, as soon as we look closer at a person who gained abundance we can clearly see the shift that took place within his very own hierarchy of needs, as this person discovered that money, tangibles, and wealth do not truly fulfill him. As a result, this person will try to reach the next level of his hierarchy of needs, for instance, self-actualization but also the attempt to gain more power, etc.

Living in the moment, however, allows you to be truly grateful for the wonderful things you have in this very moment, no matter if it is health or the fact that you have a lovely family. By living in the moment you are not dependent on the accomplishment of wealth, tangibles or anything else in order to become happy as you are already able to appreciate and love the very moment, which makes you happy. Furthermore, it helps you to realize that the pursuit of material things or needs with the attempt to find fulfillment and happiness will fail and end in a viscous circle of desiring, pursuing and achieving, without reaching the desired destination (happiness). Goals and hopes (for instance the hope to become rich) are not real in the present situation, as they are just thoughts and dreams that do not exist, yet. You cannot feel or experience them and should not rely on them to make you any happier at all when realized. Even more important: the things you desire won’t make you any happier at all if you aren’t able to be thankful for what you already have. In fact, you will never experience true happiness and fulfillment by accomplishing the various things on our “personal hierarchy of needs”, as these needs are constantly shifting, as soon as you satisfy one of them.

SUMMARY:

Living in the moment is essential for being happy. Happiness is nothing you can think about, even if you might have been happy in the past and if you know that you will be happy in the future. You can only experience happiness by feeling it in the very moment. The happiness you experience is not dependent on tangibles and wealth, but depends on the ability to be grateful for the things you have in life.

Worrieless

There are times in our lives where we look at our lives and tell ourselves that we cannot to this and that we cannot achieve that. It often goes so far that these negative thoughts prevent us even from performing an action, just because we have made negative experiences with it in the past. Whenever we start worrying about the future we are clearly not living in the moment, as we start to visualize negative experiences in the past and let the mindsets that evolved out of them influence our present behavior.

When living in the moment there will be no questions about what might happen, what could have happened or what will happen. Living in the moment means to accept the past as what it is: a bygone and not changeable experience that will only have an influence on your present life if you allow it to.

Photo by half-blood prince

What is your favorite strategy to be living in the moment?


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About Author

Steve is the founder of Planet of Success, the #1 choice when it comes to motivation, self-growth and empowerment. This world does not need followers. What it needs is people who stand in their own sovereignty. Join us in the quest to live life to the fullest!

16 Comments

  1. As they say savour every moment because you’ll never know what will happen next.
    It’s good to live in the moment, because it gives you happiness.

  2. After reading this article i feel like crying….coz..the only reason i have been left behind in my life is that i had been worrying about past and future…and never was grateful for the things i have…i never enjoyed my present…and am so dissappointed that i wasted so many of my wonderful ‘present moments’….i wish i could feel them now..but this moment when i read this article i can actually feel it …and have forgorten what bad happened to me in the past…and what good or bed is gonna happen in future….i wish i could make use of every moment with joy…adorn it with smile happiness passion..instead of juat cursing over my so called destiny…it has actuallh made me feel like a normal being….no words to express my gratitude…thnku so much…

    • You’re very welcome. I’m glad that the article has touched you. We all wake up one day to the importance of living in the present. But once we do we can actively change and start to make the most out of the moment.

  3. i do understand the concept of moments. still when u are missing love from your life,the feeling is soo strong that it does somewhat effects you enjoying the moment. while my health and kid is something tobe greatful about knowing that im alone makes me less capable to enjoy the moment …. although beleive me i do try.

  4. Best article. I personally have experienced it, and it is wonderful the way you look the world and enjoy your personal life in all aspects. Thank you Steve for helping humanity in such an inspiring and encouraging way.

  5. Hi Steve, it was a stroke of luck (or whatever) that I came across your amazing website. Just one quick question, if I try to live in the moment, how do I plan for the future. Tad confused.

    • Hi Mary, thanks for the kind words. Living in the moment does not mean that you stop planning for the future. What it means is that you let go of being haunted by the past and excessive worry about the future. If you do so, you can fully seize the power of the moment in order to create a better future. Because let’s face it, you cannot make the pasta undone and you cannot influence many aspect of the future. But you can always make use of the present moment. And by fully using the present moment you will eventually build a much brighter and better future.

      Living in the now does not prevent you from planning the future. It simply redirects your focus to enjoy more of the present moment (even been planning the future) instead of being constantly afraid about what might happen in the future.

  6. G . C . Pandit on

    Certainly it is amusing to clarify that human life is a perishable item and accordingly death may engulf us at any moment. So living in the midst of sphere of the moment and to derive enjoyment out of the mental peace and happiness indeed is a valuable idea.

  7. Joseph L. Schwartz on

    Hello Steve

    I mostly agree with what are trying to say here…but what’s wrong with arriving at your raison d’etre?

    I will not abandon one of the heroes of modern Psychology Dr. Abraham Maslow

    Let me just say that I personally enjoy every moment on the way to Self-Actualization!.

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