Let’s talk about living in the present. Do you just ever have those moments where you’re going about your business and suddenly you just scare yourself by thinking of the future? Maybe it’s something small, like realizing you forgot about homework that is due tomorrow or something huge like thinking that the people you love the most are going to leave you. You ignore the thought, thinking nothing of it. Time passes, then suddenly that dreaded thought is all you can think about. It seems to be really hard to just shield our brains to the anxiety that comes with not knowing what our future holds, and it could be quite difficult. But, you’re going to spend so much time dreading your future to the point where your whole life is going to be spent worrying about a time that has yet to exist. What many forget is that the sun always rises.

Over the past few months, I’ve been really trying to bring myself and others to start living in the present. It’s a lot harder than it seems, but it really shouldn’t be. I kept asking different people about how I can enjoy what I have and not waste the precious present of the present. Whether it be the small things like the ambient environment to bigger things like the actions people are doing just for the sake of my happiness. I was getting somewhat mad at the fact that I wasn’t happy simply due to the fact I was worrying about a time that doesn’t exist: the future. Days went on and I finally realized just what it was that was bothering me.

I forgot that the actions I take right now are going to be my future.

If I let myself live in uncertainty, then my future will consist of nothing but wasted time, worrying about dumb problems that could easily be fixed if I just shut my brain off and start living in the moment. Now, I know that this situation might not apply to everyone, but I still want to remind everyone of the simple fact that the time you have right now is so precious, and anyone can fall into a horrible loop of dread where it seems like there is no way out.

It all starts with a doubt, a question, a strand of words that we initially think nothing of until we realize just how much of a bother it can grow to be. Will I pass this test? Will I be able to go out there and make people proud? Will my friends leave me? All these different doubts from different people whose solution does not have to be so different. You don’t have to dread any exam, because no C student is predestined to have a C forever, as the choice to work for that A is present, all it would take is to live in the present. If you’re worried about making people proud, why not go out there and give the world something to be proud of instead of succumbing to the anxiety which will ultimately lead you to be disappointed in yourself?

And maybe the present doesn’t seem too good for you right now. Maybe it seems like the world is falling apart, and that it’s never going to get better; but that’s just an illusion that this dreaded time loop comes with. Take actions now, because if you don’t, then who will? The origin of all this anxiety was a random string of words, but all it takes to end it is another not-so-random string of words that can be given to anyone who cares: “I’m doubting myself.”

There is no shame to admit when we feel down, and I urge anyone who is in that loop to just take a breather and seek help. Life is too beautiful and so precious to let it be wasted living in anything but the present. Everyone is indispensable, you are not your thoughts, and never dread your future, because your decisions can change fate.