Do you often feel your thoughts are running your life? Do you frequently find yourself deep in thoughts, ruminating, analysing, or worrying? Are you feeling sad and sour at most times of the day and unable to pinpoint the reason that is bothering you?
Surely, you have a series of unhappy thoughts moving around your head all day long and you are unable to concentrate on your daily routine. If you are going through such a situation, there may be replays of the past looping over and over again in your head, followed by hopes and worries of what is coming in the future.
There are many chances that you are either living in your past or overwhelming your head with future worries and consequently, you stay sublimely unhappy. Living in the past is too painful to bear and worrying too much about the future is exhausting and leads to sadness and hopelessness.
If you find yourself adhering to a particular time from your past because you think there is nothing in the present or future that could be better and if thinking about the past makes you feel unhappy you may be stuck in the past.
Living in the present means eliminating worries about anything that happened in the past and not fearing what will happen in the future. It means living for today and enjoying what is happening right now.
Living in your past not only takes away your enjoyment of today but also steals from you the true living. The most important moment to live is the present moment. If you are unable to figure out if you are living in the past, you can ask yourself the following questions to help you figure it out:
1. Does thinking about the past make you sad?
2. Are you not satisfied with your current life situation?
3. Is there one specific time from the past that you find yourself adhering to?
4. Are you frightened of the future?
5. Do you feel that you will never reach that level of happiness, status, satisfaction, acceptance, etc. again?
Why is living in the past a problem?
It is a problem because it takes away the opportunity to enjoy your present moment. If you are not happy and enjoying where you are and what is happening around you, then living in the past will not help. Living in the past won’t let you be able to deal with the issues in your present life. If you are currently underemployed or unemployed, it feels better to go to the past and think about the time when you were the boss, when people respected you and when people were depending on you and looked up to you.
Reasons for living in the past:
Some people live in the past as they don’t want to or are unable to deal with the present situation, while others live in the past because of the fear of upcoming situations in the future. Looking back on your life doesn’t bring any surprises and it is easy to live in the past because it is at least, predictable.
Bottom line:
To stay happy, don’t look back at the past, look for happiness in the present and enjoy the moment you are in now. You won’t be able to live this moment again, that’s why you should make the most of it. Be present at this very moment by watching positive things around you. Focus on yourself and what you are doing as well as take in what people are saying.
Lastly, leave the past behind as you can’t change what has already happened. Concentrate on the present moment and focus on your happiness. Opting to be positive will lead you towards a life full of joy. Learning how to live and enjoy the present moment is a necessary component of a happy life.
Enjoy your life NOW!
* The author is a consultant in Public Relations and Personality Types. Instagram: @Tipsbyhalahill
To stay happy, don’t look back at the past, look for happiness in the present and enjoy the moment y
