Right now.
That’s all there really is. Right now.
We have a strange concept of time. In our minds we are able to travel long distances into the past and travel far into the future. We are able to evoke feelings and imagine what life will be like or to experience the pain of the past all over again. We are constant time travellers, but living is always done in the present. The people you meet respond to you in the present. No matter what happened in the past, there are thing that should and must be done today. No matter what potential the future holds, the foundation of that future are right here and right now.
Right now.
Not tomorrow and not yesterday. You are here and no matter how many times we hear this, we still choose to live our lives by the clock instead of in time. We organize our lives by the hours in the day, by what we think we should be doing, and judge ourselves based on limits that sometimes have to business being there.
If you have a change to make, today is the best day to begin. Forget the perfect moment and forget being ready. You’ll never be truly ready and there will never be a perfect moment. You are just stalling, afraid for whatever reason to become who you know you are meant to become. You’re scared of being fantastic. Ironic, for sure. But the fear of being great is real, which is why today is the best day to dance with that fear.
You cannot do everything today but you can do something. You don’t have to do it well, just to the best of your abilities, because tomorrow, someone might come along that will be of great help, or you’ll grow in wisdom and will be able to correct your course yourself.
Right now is the time to walk and change what you’ve been meaning to change for years. Quit smoking. Quit binging on food that doesn’t give you life and energy. Quit complaining about the state of the world, about corrupt government and the unfairness of it all. Instead, quit a few things and replace them with life giving moments.
When you quit smoking, spend that money on a beautiful experience. When you stop eating mountains of sugar, get yourself some nice new clothes. And when you stop complaining, you’re going to realize how easy and meaningful conversations are with people. You’ll learn how negative people are attracted to negative people. Anger likes anger. Gossip seeks gossip.
Right now, if you choose to be someone else. If right now you choose to pursue something you’ve been meaning to pursue for a long time. If you end things that need to end. If you refocus, recommit, and start moving forward, no matter how gingerly or how timidly. Soon enough, you’ll be somewhere you cannot even imagine. You’ll be someone that you won’t believe you’ve become. You’ll have energy, wisdom, and be able to impact everyone you come in contact with.
But you have to do it right now.
Commit. Plan. Execute.
What you get to today, you won’t have to tackle tomorrow. Which is a good thing, because tomorrow comes with its own set of rules and circumstances. You can be ready for tomorrow and the day after that, by being present here and now. Right now and doing what needs to be done and being who you need to be.
Right now.
There is no better time.
Cover photo generously provided by photographer Pawel Czerinski via unsplash.com
